What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B)
This is a Darden case study."People are quick to point the finger at Africa but if someone is taking the money then someone is paying it and they must be held accountable too. You can see from this case that it is not only Africa that is corrupt," said Lesotho's Attorney General Fine Maema. This summed up the Lesotho government's approach to the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) scandal. Determined to splinter the stereotype of all African countries being riddled with corruption, Lesotho wanted to go after the multinationals who had bribed the project's ex-CEO, Masupha Sole. The trials would be lengthy and highly expensive, and Lesotho needed financial support. This is a four-case series, labeled A through D, UV1142 through UV1145.
Authors :: Pat Werhane, Jenny Mead, Mollie Painter-Moreland
Swot Analysis of "What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B)" written by Pat Werhane, Jenny Mead, Mollie Painter-Moreland includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lesotho Splinter facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Ethics and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lesotho Splinter, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lesotho Splinter 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 What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lesotho Splinter
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 Lesotho Splinter
Strengths What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lesotho Splinter in What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Lesotho Splinter is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Lesotho Splinter is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (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.
Analytics focus
– Lesotho Splinter 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 Pat Werhane, Jenny Mead, Mollie Painter-Moreland 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Lesotho Splinter in the sector have low bargaining power. What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Lesotho Splinter to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Lesotho Splinter is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (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.
Learning organization
- Lesotho Splinter 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 Lesotho Splinter is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Lesotho Splinter 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 What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Lesotho Splinter to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Lesotho Splinter to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Lesotho Splinter in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Lesotho Splinter digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Lesotho Splinter 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Lesotho Splinter 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 What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Lesotho Splinter 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Pat Werhane, Jenny Mead, Mollie Painter-Moreland suggests that, Lesotho Splinter 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Lesotho Splinter is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Lesotho Splinter needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Lesotho Splinter to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Lesotho Splinter supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Lesotho Splinter vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Lesotho Splinter 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Lesotho Splinter, firm in the HBR case study What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) 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 Lesotho Splinter has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B), in the dynamic environment Lesotho Splinter has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Lesotho Splinter has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Lesotho Splinter 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 - What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Lesotho Splinter 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (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 Lesotho Splinter 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (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 What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Lesotho Splinter 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Lesotho Splinter 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Lesotho Splinter can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Lesotho Splinter operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Lesotho Splinter 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
– Lesotho Splinter 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Lesotho Splinter has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Lesotho Splinter to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) case study. Lesotho Splinter can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Lesotho Splinter 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Lesotho Splinter to increase its market reach. Lesotho Splinter 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Lesotho Splinter 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 Lesotho Splinter to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Lesotho Splinter 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, What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (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.
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. Lesotho Splinter can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Lesotho Splinter 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Lesotho Splinter can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (B) are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Lesotho Splinter 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.
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.
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. Lesotho Splinter can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Lesotho Splinter in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Lesotho Splinter 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. Lesotho Splinter can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Lesotho Splinter 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.
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 Lesotho Splinter.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Lesotho Splinter is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Lesotho Splinter 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.
Increasing wage structure of Lesotho Splinter
– 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 Lesotho Splinter.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Lesotho Splinter 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.
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. Lesotho Splinter needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (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 What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (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 What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (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 What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (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 What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (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 Lesotho Splinter needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.