The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version
The case describes the growth of Guggenheim Brothers as one of the largest mining companies in the world in the early twentieth century. Global expansion led the firm to Chile, first in copper and later in natural nitrates. Chile's economic growth was driven by the profits from mining, especially its world monopoly of nitrates. The Guggenheims invested in Chilean nitrates after synthetics were developed by German chemists. Their strategies to modernize the industry collapsed with the outbreak of the Great Depression, during which Chile experienced the greatest fall of incomes of any country. The case serves as a vehicle to explore the devastating economic and political impact of the Great Depression on the countries of the South, such as Chile, which had specialized in primary commodities, and on mining and financial capitalists such as the Guggenheims.
Authors :: Geoffrey G. Jones, Felipe Tamega Fernandes
Swot Analysis of "The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version" written by Geoffrey G. Jones, Felipe Tamega Fernandes includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nitrates Guggenheims facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Globalization, Recession, Venture capital and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nitrates Guggenheims, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nitrates Guggenheims 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 Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nitrates Guggenheims
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 Nitrates Guggenheims
Strengths The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nitrates Guggenheims in The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Nitrates Guggenheims digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Nitrates Guggenheims in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Nitrates Guggenheims is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nitrates Guggenheims in the sector have low bargaining power. The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nitrates Guggenheims to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Nitrates Guggenheims 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 Geoffrey G. Jones, Felipe Tamega Fernandes 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Nitrates Guggenheims is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nitrates Guggenheims to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nitrates Guggenheims to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Nitrates Guggenheims is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Nitrates Guggenheims in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Nitrates Guggenheims 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 Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Nitrates Guggenheims has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Nitrates Guggenheims to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Nitrates Guggenheims 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 Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version, it seems that the employees of Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Nitrates Guggenheims has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Nitrates Guggenheims is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Nitrates Guggenheims needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Nitrates Guggenheims to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Nitrates Guggenheims 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. Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Nitrates Guggenheims 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version, is just above the industry average. Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version 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 Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Nitrates Guggenheims is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Nitrates Guggenheims 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 - The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Geoffrey G. Jones, Felipe Tamega Fernandes suggests that, Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Nitrates Guggenheims, firm in the HBR case study The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version | 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 Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Nitrates Guggenheims is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version 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, Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Nitrates Guggenheims to increase its market reach. Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Nitrates Guggenheims has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Nitrates Guggenheims can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Nitrates Guggenheims can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version 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
– Nitrates Guggenheims 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 Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Nitrates Guggenheims to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Nitrates Guggenheims 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 Nitrates Guggenheims to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Nitrates Guggenheims can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Nitrates Guggenheims operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Threats The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Nitrates Guggenheims is facing in Global Business 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 Nitrates Guggenheims business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Nitrates Guggenheims needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Nitrates Guggenheims 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. Nitrates Guggenheims can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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. Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Nitrates Guggenheims with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Nitrates Guggenheims.
Regulatory challenges
– Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Nitrates Guggenheims 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Nitrates Guggenheims 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 Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version .
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 Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version, Nitrates Guggenheims 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 .
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. Nitrates Guggenheims can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version 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 Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version 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 Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version 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 Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version 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 Guggenheims and Chilean Nitrates, Spanish Version 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 Nitrates Guggenheims needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
