Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan
Explores the challenges of female entrepreneurship in Afghanistan through the case of Kemeli Sediqi, who built a business under the Taliban, and founded a consultancy in 2004. The case positions Sediqi's experiences against the background of Afghanistan's turbulent history, with a focus on the contested role of women in Afghani society.
Authors :: Geoffrey G. Jones, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Swot Analysis of "Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan" written by Geoffrey G. Jones, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Afghanistan Female facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Gender, Social responsibility and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Afghanistan Female, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Afghanistan Female 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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Afghanistan Female
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 Afghanistan Female
Strengths Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Afghanistan Female in Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Afghanistan Female is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Afghanistan Female has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Afghanistan Female to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Afghanistan Female is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Afghanistan Female has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Afghanistan Female in the sector have low bargaining power. Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Afghanistan Female to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Afghanistan Female is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Afghanistan Female in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Afghanistan Female 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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Afghanistan Female 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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Afghanistan Female
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Afghanistan Female does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Afghanistan Female 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, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon 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.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Afghanistan Female 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 Afghanistan Female in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Afghanistan Female products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Afghanistan Female needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Afghanistan Female is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan, 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan, is just above the industry average. Afghanistan Female 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Afghanistan Female 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 - Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan, it seems that the employees of Afghanistan Female 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, Afghanistan Female 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Afghanistan Female is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Afghanistan Female needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Afghanistan Female to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Afghanistan Female 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan, in the dynamic environment Afghanistan Female has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Afghanistan Female has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Afghanistan Female 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.
Opportunities Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan | 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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Afghanistan Female is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Afghanistan Female can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Afghanistan Female 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 Afghanistan Female 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.
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. Afghanistan Female can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Afghanistan Female 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, Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Afghanistan Female has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Afghanistan Female to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan case study. Afghanistan Female can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Afghanistan Female 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. Afghanistan Female 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Afghanistan Female 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Afghanistan Female 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Afghanistan Female can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Afghanistan Female operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Afghanistan Female 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Afghanistan Female 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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Afghanistan Female to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Afghanistan Female 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Afghanistan Female is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Afghanistan Female
– 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 Afghanistan Female.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Afghanistan Female 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Afghanistan Female with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Afghanistan Female has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Afghanistan Female 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.
Environmental challenges
– Afghanistan Female 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. Afghanistan Female can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Afghanistan Female 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan, Afghanistan Female may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Afghanistan Female 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. Afghanistan Female needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Afghanistan Female.
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. Afghanistan Female 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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan 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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan 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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan 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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan 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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan 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 Afghanistan Female needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
