Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged)
A new administration takes power in a state in India and cancels a power project agreed upon by the previous state government and a U.S.-based energy company. The project cancellation is based on allegations of irregularities, exorbitant costs, and political pressures.
Swot Analysis of "Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged)" written by Louis T. Wells Jr. includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Power Cancels facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Economy, Government, Marketing, Negotiations and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Power Cancels, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Power Cancels 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 Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Power Cancels
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 Power Cancels
Strengths Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Power Cancels in Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Power Cancels to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Power Cancels to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Power Cancels 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 Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Power Cancels in the sector have low bargaining power. Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Power Cancels to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Power Cancels digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Power Cancels 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 Power Cancels 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.
Training and development
– Power Cancels has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) 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.
Organizational Resilience of Power Cancels
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Power Cancels does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Power Cancels 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 Power Cancels is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Power Cancels 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 Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Power Cancels 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 Louis T. Wells Jr. 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Power Cancels has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Power Cancels 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.
Weaknesses Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Power Cancels 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged), 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) HBR case study mentions - Power Cancels 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Power Cancels 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. Power Cancels 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Power Cancels 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 Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) 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 Power Cancels 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Power Cancels, firm in the HBR case study Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) 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 Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Power Cancels is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Power Cancels is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Power Cancels 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Power Cancels has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) | 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 Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Power Cancels 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Power Cancels 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 Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Power Cancels to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Power Cancels 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Power Cancels 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.
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 Power Cancels 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, Power Cancels is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) 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.
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. Power Cancels 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. Power Cancels 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Power Cancels 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, Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Power Cancels can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Power Cancels can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Power Cancels to increase its market reach. Power Cancels 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.
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 Power Cancels in the consumer business. Now Power Cancels can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Power Cancels has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Power Cancels to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) case study. Power Cancels can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) are -
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 Power Cancels business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
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 Power Cancels in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Power Cancels 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Power Cancels has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Power Cancels 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Power Cancels 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Power Cancels 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Power Cancels 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.
Environmental challenges
– Power Cancels 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. Power Cancels can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Power Cancels is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Power Cancels 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 Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) .
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. Power Cancels 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) 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 Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) 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 Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) 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 Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) 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 Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged) 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 Power Cancels needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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