Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) 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 (B)
This B case takes up the story of the Afghan female entrepreneur Kamila Sidiqi between 2009 and 2015. The case opens with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry praising her achievements at a State Department dinner in March 2015 for the newly elected President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani. It describes the growth of her Kaweyan firm, which diversified into dried fruit processing and a cab service, against a background of some economic and social progress, but also continuing economic, social and security challenges in the country. In October 2014 President Ghani asked Kamila to become Presidential Deputy Chief of Staff, a position which she accepted. The B case can be used in conjunction with the A case to explore the issue whether entrepreneurship alone can significantly overcome the many challenges faced by post-conflict countries such as Afghanistan, or whether improvements in institutional frameworks are a pre-condition.
Authors :: Geoffrey G. Jones, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Swot Analysis of "Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B)" 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 Ghani facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Entrepreneurship, Gender 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 (B) casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B)
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 (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Afghanistan Ghani, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Afghanistan Ghani 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 (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Afghanistan Ghani
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 Ghani
Strengths Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Afghanistan Ghani in Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Afghanistan Ghani to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Afghanistan Ghani to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Afghanistan Ghani is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Afghanistan Ghani 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Afghanistan Ghani 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 (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.
Training and development
– Afghanistan Ghani has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) 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
– Afghanistan Ghani is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Afghanistan Ghani in the sector have low bargaining power. Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Afghanistan Ghani to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Afghanistan Ghani is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Afghanistan Ghani 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.
Organizational Resilience of Afghanistan Ghani
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Afghanistan Ghani 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
– Afghanistan Ghani has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Afghanistan Ghani 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Afghanistan Ghani in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) | 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 (B) are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Afghanistan Ghani is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Afghanistan Ghani needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Afghanistan Ghani to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B), 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Afghanistan Ghani products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Afghanistan Ghani needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Geoffrey G. Jones, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon suggests that, Afghanistan Ghani 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Afghanistan Ghani 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Afghanistan Ghani 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (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 Afghanistan Ghani 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Afghanistan Ghani 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Afghanistan Ghani 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 (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) HBR case study mentions - Afghanistan Ghani 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.
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 Afghanistan Ghani supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Afghanistan Ghani vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Afghanistan Ghani 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 (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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Afghanistan Ghani 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, Afghanistan Ghani can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Afghanistan Ghani operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Afghanistan Ghani 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Afghanistan Ghani can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Afghanistan Ghani to increase its market reach. Afghanistan Ghani 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 Afghanistan Ghani 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 Afghanistan Ghani to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Ghani can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Afghanistan Ghani can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Afghanistan Ghani can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Afghanistan Ghani 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Afghanistan Ghani 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 (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Afghanistan Ghani to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Afghanistan Ghani 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.
Threats Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) 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 (B) are -
Regulatory challenges
– Afghanistan Ghani 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Afghanistan Ghani can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (B) .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Afghanistan Ghani 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.
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 Ghani needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Afghanistan Ghani in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Afghanistan Ghani 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 Ghani with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Afghanistan Ghani 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.
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. Afghanistan Ghani can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Afghanistan Ghani
– 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 Ghani.
Environmental challenges
– Afghanistan Ghani 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 Ghani can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Afghanistan Ghani has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Afghanistan Ghani 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Afghanistan Ghani is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (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 Kaweyan: Female Entrepreneurship and the Past and Future of Afghanistan (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 Afghanistan Ghani needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
