Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command
This case, presented in an interesting cartoon format, describes the first week after Antonio Scarsi (disguised), an expatriate executive, takes on the role of CEO in a poorly performing and demoralized domestic Chinese company. Although Antonio had extensive China experience, including considerable language capabilities, he knew little about this company, in which he was the only non-Chinese employee, and had never before worked outside of the support network of a major multinational corporation. He aimed to turn around the company in six months. His challenge was how to learn about the firm as quickly and effectively as possible and signal his intentions to revitalize it to the employees. This case might be used in conjunction with the case titled "Michael Faye Goes To China" (IMD322). Together the two cases focus on the theme "Learning about Leading in China", and encourage participants to consider the very different learning styles and common leadership traits of two expatriate executives facing compelling managerial challenges in growing their Chinese business. The cases stimulate participants to reflect on: 1) what their own leadership and learning styles are like, and their implications; 2) what they could do to become more effective and efficient leaders and learners in any new assignment; and 3) how to learn from one another during class discussion.
Swot Analysis of "Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command" written by William A. Fischer, Rebecca Chung includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Antonio Scarsi facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Leadership and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Antonio Scarsi, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Antonio Scarsi 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 Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Antonio Scarsi
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 Antonio Scarsi
Strengths Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Antonio Scarsi in Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Antonio Scarsi 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 Antonio Scarsi is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Antonio Scarsi
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Antonio Scarsi does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Antonio Scarsi digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Antonio Scarsi 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
– Antonio Scarsi has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Antonio Scarsi has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Antonio Scarsi 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.
Analytics focus
– Antonio Scarsi 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 William A. Fischer, Rebecca Chung 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.
High brand equity
– Antonio Scarsi has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Antonio Scarsi to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Antonio Scarsi in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Antonio Scarsi 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
– Antonio Scarsi is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command 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 Antonio Scarsi 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.
Weaknesses Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Antonio Scarsi 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Antonio Scarsi 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. Antonio Scarsi 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Antonio Scarsi 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 - Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command 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 Antonio Scarsi 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Antonio Scarsi 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Antonio Scarsi 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Antonio Scarsi products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Antonio Scarsi needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Antonio Scarsi 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Antonio Scarsi, firm in the HBR case study Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command, in the dynamic environment Antonio Scarsi has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Antonio Scarsi has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command 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 Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Antonio Scarsi is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command | 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 Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command are -
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. Antonio Scarsi 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. Antonio Scarsi 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Antonio Scarsi can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command 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, Antonio Scarsi 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 Antonio Scarsi 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Antonio Scarsi is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command 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
– Antonio Scarsi 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Antonio Scarsi 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 Antonio Scarsi can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Antonio Scarsi in the consumer business. Now Antonio Scarsi can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Antonio Scarsi 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 Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Antonio Scarsi to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Antonio Scarsi 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 Antonio Scarsi to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Antonio Scarsi to increase its market reach. Antonio Scarsi 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 Antonio Scarsi has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Antonio Scarsi to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command case study. Antonio Scarsi can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command are -
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 Antonio Scarsi in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Antonio Scarsi can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Antonio Scarsi.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Antonio Scarsi 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.
Increasing wage structure of Antonio Scarsi
– 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 Antonio Scarsi.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command, Antonio Scarsi 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 .
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Antonio Scarsi 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Antonio Scarsi has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Antonio Scarsi 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.
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. Antonio Scarsi needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Antonio Scarsi business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Antonio Scarsi 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
– Antonio Scarsi 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command 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 Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command 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 Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command 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 Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command 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 Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command 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 Antonio Scarsi needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.