A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A)
This case addresses the theme of crisis leadership in a multinational enterprise in a powerful way, to help students internalize the critical challenges of a multinational company in an emerging market. In August 2007, a routine product feedback and defect analysis process identified a defective batch of batteries supplied by a Japanese vendor, Matsushita. India happened to be the recipient of the largest proportion of the defective batch. Nokia's corporate communications team, based in Finland, in cooperation with the Indian team, responded with a customary global product advisory. Instructions were made available on the Internet for customers to diagnose a defective battery and get a free replacement. Nokia was shocked to see the antagonistic response from the Indian press to the product advisory and the ensuing mayhem that spread quickly through the country. The head of Nokia India and his team had to act swiftly to preserve the company's hard-earned reputation and market share.Case A is set at a midnight strategy session at Nokia's Indian headquarters to chart the way forward. Case B is a short version of what actually happened: how Nokia and the team successfully steered the organization through the crisis and not only survived but also used the situation to create new organizational capabilities.
Authors :: Charles Dhanaraj, Monidipa Mukherjee, Hima Bindu
Swot Analysis of "A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A)" written by Charles Dhanaraj, Monidipa Mukherjee, Hima Bindu includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nokia Defective facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nokia Defective, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nokia Defective 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 A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nokia Defective
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 Nokia Defective
Strengths A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nokia Defective in A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Nokia Defective is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Nokia Defective 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 Charles Dhanaraj, Monidipa Mukherjee, Hima Bindu 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 recruit top talent
– Nokia Defective is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Nokia Defective 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nokia Defective to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nokia Defective to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Nokia Defective has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Nokia Defective is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Nokia Defective 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 A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Nokia Defective has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Nokia Defective 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nokia Defective in the sector have low bargaining power. A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nokia Defective to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Nokia Defective is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) 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.
Weaknesses A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Nokia Defective 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Nokia Defective 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) HBR case study mentions - Nokia Defective 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 A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A), it seems that the employees of Nokia Defective 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A), is just above the industry average. Nokia Defective 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Nokia Defective 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Nokia Defective is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Nokia Defective, firm in the HBR case study A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) 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 Nokia Defective 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Charles Dhanaraj, Monidipa Mukherjee, Hima Bindu suggests that, Nokia Defective 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 Nokia Defective is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Nokia Defective needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Nokia Defective to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) | 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 A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) are -
Manufacturing automation
– Nokia Defective 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Nokia Defective 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, A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A), 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 Nokia Defective has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Nokia Defective to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) case study. Nokia Defective can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Nokia Defective can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Nokia Defective 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.
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 Nokia Defective in the consumer business. Now Nokia Defective can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Nokia Defective 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Nokia Defective 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Nokia Defective 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 Nokia Defective 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 Nokia Defective to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Nokia Defective can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Nokia Defective operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Nokia Defective 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.
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. Nokia Defective can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Nokia Defective has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Nokia Defective 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Nokia Defective 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.
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 Nokia Defective business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Nokia Defective 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. Nokia Defective can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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 Nokia Defective.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Nokia Defective is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Nokia Defective can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Nokia Defective 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Nokia Defective 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Nokia Defective 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 A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A), Nokia Defective 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Nokia Defective with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Nokia Defective 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) 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 A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) 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 A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) 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 A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) 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 A Bomb in Your Pocket? Crisis Leadership at Nokia India (A) 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 Nokia Defective needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
