China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc.
The proposed takeover of Noranda Inc. (one of the biggest mineral players in the world) by the Chinese state owned enterprise, China Minmetals Corporation, was cause for Canadian government concern as it required some understanding about the workings and objectives of state owned enterprises. There was particular concern around the labour issues and human rights violations in China, and the possible impact of these on the proposed takeover. Equally important, Canada ran the substantial risk of sending the wrong message to the People's Republic of China if it was to block such a takeover, and in some respects, to be seen as shutting its doors to one of the world's largest and most powerful emerging economies.
Swot Analysis of "China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc." written by Isaiah A. Litvak includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Minmetals Noranda facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Government, International business and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Minmetals Noranda, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Minmetals Noranda 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 China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Minmetals Noranda
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 Minmetals Noranda
Strengths China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Minmetals Noranda in China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Minmetals Noranda in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Minmetals Noranda is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. 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
- Minmetals Noranda 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 Minmetals Noranda is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Minmetals Noranda digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Minmetals Noranda 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Minmetals Noranda 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Minmetals Noranda 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 China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Minmetals Noranda is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Minmetals Noranda has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Minmetals Noranda to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Minmetals Noranda is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Minmetals Noranda 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 China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Minmetals Noranda 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 China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. 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 China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Minmetals Noranda is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. HBR case study mentions - Minmetals Noranda 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc., in the dynamic environment Minmetals Noranda has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Minmetals Noranda 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 Minmetals Noranda products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Minmetals Noranda 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, Minmetals Noranda is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Minmetals Noranda 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Minmetals Noranda 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. Minmetals Noranda 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Minmetals Noranda, firm in the HBR case study China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc., 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Minmetals Noranda 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Minmetals Noranda 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 China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. | 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 China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Minmetals Noranda to increase its market reach. Minmetals Noranda 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 Minmetals Noranda 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Minmetals Noranda 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Minmetals Noranda 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Minmetals Noranda 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 Minmetals Noranda to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Minmetals Noranda 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
– Minmetals Noranda has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Minmetals Noranda can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Global Business industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Minmetals Noranda can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Minmetals Noranda 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. Minmetals Noranda 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Minmetals Noranda 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 China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Minmetals Noranda to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Minmetals Noranda 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Minmetals Noranda 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, China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc., to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Minmetals Noranda 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
– Minmetals Noranda has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Minmetals Noranda 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.
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 Minmetals Noranda in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Minmetals Noranda 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Minmetals Noranda 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 China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc., Minmetals Noranda 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 .
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 Minmetals Noranda business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Minmetals Noranda
– 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 Minmetals Noranda.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Minmetals Noranda 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Minmetals Noranda with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Minmetals Noranda can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Minmetals Noranda 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. 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 China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. 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 China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. 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 China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. 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 China Minmetals Corporation and Noranda Inc. 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 Minmetals Noranda needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
