The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B)
Following the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in late April 2010, the Obama administration organized a massive response operation to contain the enormous amount of oil spreading across the Gulf of Mexico. Attracting intense public attention and, eventually, widespread criticism, the response adhered to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, a federal law that the crisis would soon reveal was not well understood - or even accepted - by all relevant parties. This two-part case profiles the efforts of senior officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as they struggled to coordinate the actions of a myriad of actors, ranging from numerous federal partners (including key members of the Obama White House); the political leadership of the affected Gulf States and sub-state jurisdictions; and the private sector. Case A provides an overview of the disaster and early response; discusses the formation of the National Incident Command (NIC), which had responsibility for directing response activities; and explores the NIC's efforts to coordinate the actions of various federal entities. Case B focuses on the challenges the NIC encountered as it sought to engage with state and local actors - an effort that would grow increasingly complicated as the crisis deepened throughout the spring and summer of 2010. Case number 1982.0
Authors :: David Giles, Arnold Howitt, Dutch Leonard
Swot Analysis of "The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B)" written by David Giles, Arnold Howitt, Dutch Leonard includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Response Nic facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, Leadership and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Response Nic, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Response Nic 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 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Response Nic
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Response Nic
Strengths The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Response Nic in The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Response Nic digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Response Nic 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Response Nic is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Response Nic in the sector have low bargaining power. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Response Nic to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Response Nic to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Response Nic to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Response Nic 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Response Nic 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
– Response Nic is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Response Nic has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) 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 Response Nic 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
– Response Nic 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 David Giles, Arnold Howitt, Dutch Leonard 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 Response Nic
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Response Nic does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Response Nic has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) HBR case study mentions - Response Nic 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B), it seems that the employees of Response Nic 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
Response Nic 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Response Nic, firm in the HBR case study The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Response Nic is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) 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 Response Nic is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Response Nic needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Response Nic to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Response Nic 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Global Business strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B), in the dynamic environment Response Nic has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Response Nic has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Response Nic products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Response Nic needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B), is just above the industry average. Response Nic needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Opportunities The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) | 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 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Response Nic 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 Global Business segment.
Buying journey improvements
– Response Nic can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Response Nic 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 The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Response Nic 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, Response Nic is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) 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, Response Nic 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Response Nic can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Response Nic operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
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. Response Nic can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Response Nic can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Response Nic 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, The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Response Nic in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Response Nic can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business 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.
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 Response Nic in the consumer business. Now Response Nic can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Response Nic 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 Response Nic to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Response Nic 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.
Increasing wage structure of Response Nic
– 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 Response Nic.
Regulatory challenges
– Response Nic 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 Global Business 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 Response Nic in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Response Nic.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Response Nic in the Global Business industry. The Global Business 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Response Nic 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.
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 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B), Response Nic may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Response Nic has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Response Nic needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Global Business sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
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.
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. Response Nic needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business 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, Response Nic 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 The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) 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 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) 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 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) 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 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) 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 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (B) 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 Response Nic needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
