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Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

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.

Authors :: William A. Fischer, Rebecca Chung

Topics :: Global Business

Tags :: Emerging markets, Leadership, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

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 government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc



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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Antonio Scarsi in the sector have low bargaining power. Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Antonio Scarsi to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 -

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.

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.

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.

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.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Learning to Lead in China: Antonio Scarsi Takes Command, 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Antonio Scarsi 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.




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 -

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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Antonio Scarsi 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.

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.

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.

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.

Identify volunteer opportunities

– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Antonio Scarsi can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Manufacturing automation

– Antonio Scarsi 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.




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 -

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.

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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Antonio Scarsi 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.



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