Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country
To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color.This case showcases the 30-year career of Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairman of HSBC India, a leading woman business leader globally. It demonstrates how Kidwai spent a lifetime overcoming barriers as a woman in a male-dominated profession and as an Indian in the global marketplace. Now, as opportunities to play a role in the environment are beginning to open up, she has to decide the next direction to take in her career.
Swot Analysis of "Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country" written by Boris Groysberg, Anjali Raina includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kidwai Lal facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kidwai Lal, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kidwai Lal 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 Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kidwai Lal
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 Kidwai Lal
Strengths Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kidwai Lal in Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kidwai Lal to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kidwai Lal to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Kidwai Lal has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Kidwai Lal to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Kidwai Lal is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Kidwai Lal is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Kidwai Lal 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.
Training and development
– Kidwai Lal has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Kidwai Lal in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Kidwai Lal 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.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Kidwai Lal digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Kidwai Lal 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Kidwai Lal is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Kidwai Lal is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Kidwai Lal 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 Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Kidwai Lal is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Kidwai Lal 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 Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country 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 Kidwai Lal 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Kidwai Lal is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Kidwai Lal needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Kidwai Lal to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Kidwai Lal 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country, 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country 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 Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Kidwai Lal is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Kidwai Lal supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Kidwai Lal vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country, is just above the industry average. Kidwai Lal 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 Kidwai Lal 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 - Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Kidwai Lal has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Kidwai Lal even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country HBR case study mentions - Kidwai Lal 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.
Opportunities Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country | 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 Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country are -
Buying journey improvements
– Kidwai Lal can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kidwai Lal 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, Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kidwai Lal to increase its market reach. Kidwai Lal 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Kidwai Lal has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Kidwai Lal to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country case study. Kidwai Lal can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Kidwai Lal 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.
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 Kidwai Lal 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kidwai Lal 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
– Kidwai Lal 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 Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Kidwai Lal to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Kidwai Lal 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. Kidwai Lal 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
– Kidwai Lal 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
– Kidwai Lal 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Kidwai Lal 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, Kidwai Lal can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Kidwai Lal operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Threats Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Kidwai Lal 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. Kidwai Lal can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Kidwai Lal 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 Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country, Kidwai Lal 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 .
Environmental challenges
– Kidwai Lal 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. Kidwai Lal 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 Kidwai Lal.
Increasing wage structure of Kidwai Lal
– 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 Kidwai Lal.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kidwai Lal 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 Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country .
Regulatory challenges
– Kidwai Lal 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.
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. Kidwai Lal needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Kidwai Lal has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Kidwai Lal 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kidwai Lal with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country 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 Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country 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 Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country 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 Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country 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 Naina Lal Kidwai: Investing in Her Country 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 Kidwai Lal needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.