Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car
The case describes the challenges faced by Ford and other automobile manufacturers in an era of declining oil reserves and volatile fuel prices. The Ford diesel decision seems to reflect classic thinking constrained by mental models that were developed in a different world. Diesels constitute over 50 per cent of automobile sales in Europe, because fuel is extremely expensive there. If fuel gets extremely expensive in the United States, one would expect diesels to become more attractive. Yet Ford seems to be stuck in the old mental model that says Americans don't like diesels. Ford can't prove in a PowerPoint presentation that there is a big market for small diesels - mostly because there are few small diesels available to U.S. consumers. But that traps them into a position where they will never lead the industry or innovate outside of current market and technology conditions.
Swot Analysis of "Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car" written by Francis Spital, David Wesley includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Diesels Ford facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Product development, Strategy and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Diesels Ford, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Diesels Ford 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 Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Diesels Ford
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 Diesels Ford
Strengths Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Diesels Ford in Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Diesels Ford to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Diesels Ford to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Diesels Ford 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 Francis Spital, David Wesley 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.
Organizational Resilience of Diesels Ford
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Diesels Ford does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Diesels Ford has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Diesels Ford 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Diesels Ford 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
– Diesels Ford is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car 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 Diesels Ford 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.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Diesels Ford digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Diesels Ford 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.
Training and development
– Diesels Ford has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Diesels Ford 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Diesels Ford in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Diesels Ford 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 Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Diesels Ford is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Diesels Ford needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Diesels Ford to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Diesels Ford 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car, is just above the industry average. Diesels Ford 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car 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 Diesels Ford 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Francis Spital, David Wesley suggests that, Diesels Ford 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Diesels Ford needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Diesels Ford 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Diesels Ford 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car 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 Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Diesels Ford is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Diesels Ford, firm in the HBR case study Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Diesels Ford products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Diesels Ford needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car | 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 Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car are -
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 Diesels Ford 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Diesels Ford 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 Diesels Ford 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, Diesels Ford 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, Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Diesels Ford 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Diesels Ford to increase its market reach. Diesels Ford 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Diesels Ford is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Diesels Ford 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Diesels Ford can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Diesels Ford can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Diesels Ford operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
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 Diesels Ford in the consumer business. Now Diesels Ford 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 Diesels Ford 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.
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. Diesels Ford 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. Diesels Ford 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
– Diesels Ford 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.
Threats Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car 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 Diesels Ford business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Diesels Ford
– 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 Diesels Ford.
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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Diesels Ford 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
– Diesels Ford 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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Diesels Ford demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car, Diesels Ford 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Diesels Ford 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.
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. Diesels Ford 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Diesels Ford is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Diesels Ford has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Diesels Ford 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.
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 Diesels Ford.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car 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 Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car 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 Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car 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 Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car 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 Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car 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 Diesels Ford needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
