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 - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, 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 -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Antonio Scarsi 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 Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Antonio Scarsi 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 Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Antonio Scarsi 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 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Antonio Scarsi is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Antonio Scarsi to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Antonio Scarsi to invest into research and development (R&D) 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.
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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Antonio Scarsi is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command 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.
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.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Antonio Scarsi is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Antonio Scarsi in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
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 -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Antonio Scarsi 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Antonio Scarsi has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Antonio Scarsi is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Antonio Scarsi needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Antonio Scarsi to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command HBR case study mentions - Antonio Scarsi takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command, it seems that the employees of Antonio Scarsi don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command, is just above the industry average. Antonio Scarsi 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, William A. Fischer, Rebecca Chung suggests that, Antonio Scarsi 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.
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.
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 Antonio Scarsi supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Antonio Scarsi vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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. Antonio Scarsi can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Antonio Scarsi 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Antonio Scarsi 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Antonio Scarsi 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.
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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Antonio Scarsi 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, Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Antonio Scarsi can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Antonio Scarsi operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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 .
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Antonio Scarsi 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Antonio Scarsi 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. 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.
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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Antonio Scarsi 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 Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command .
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.
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.
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.