Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B)
This case describes the decisions made by Shell in response to the situation presented in the (A) case. Recommended for use with [399126], [399127], [399129], and [310038]. Must be used with [300039].
Swot Analysis of "Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B)" written by Lynn Sharp Paine includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Shell 300039 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Performance measurement, Social responsibility, Sustainability and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shell 300039, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shell 300039 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 Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shell 300039
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 Shell 300039
Strengths Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Shell 300039 in Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Shell 300039 is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Shell 300039 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Shell 300039 has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Shell 300039 is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) 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
– Shell 300039 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Shell 300039 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Shell 300039 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 Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Shell 300039 is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (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 Shell 300039 in the sector have low bargaining power. Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Shell 300039 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Shell 300039 is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Shell 300039 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 Shell 300039 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Shell 300039 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Shell 300039 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Shell 300039 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 Shell 300039 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Shell 300039
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Shell 300039 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Shell 300039, firm in the HBR case study Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) 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 Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Shell 300039 is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Shell 300039 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B), is just above the industry average. Shell 300039 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Shell 300039 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Shell 300039 has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) 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 Shell 300039 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Lynn Sharp Paine suggests that, Shell 300039 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Shell 300039 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 - Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) HBR case study mentions - Shell 300039 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 Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B), it seems that the employees of Shell 300039 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.
Opportunities Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (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 Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) are -
Buying journey improvements
– Shell 300039 can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Shell 300039 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.
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 Shell 300039 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Shell 300039 is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (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.
Manufacturing automation
– Shell 300039 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Shell 300039 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Shell 300039 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Shell 300039 can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Developing new processes and practices
– Shell 300039 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Shell 300039 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 Shell 300039 to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Shell 300039 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. Shell 300039 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Shell 300039 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Shell 300039 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, Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (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.
Threats Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B) are -
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. Shell 300039 needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Shell 300039 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.
Increasing wage structure of Shell 300039
– 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 Shell 300039.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Shell 300039 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
– Shell 300039 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.
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 Shell 300039 in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Shell 300039 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. Shell 300039 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Shell 300039 is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B), Shell 300039 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
– Shell 300039 has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Shell 300039 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (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 Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (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 Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (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 Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (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 Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (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 Shell 300039 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.