Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Can Mexico Make Democracy Work?
Enrique PeA±a Nieto, the presidential candidate of the old Mexican ruling party elected in 2012, passed the most fundamental reforms in at least two decades. They included allowing private competition in the energy sector, including with the state-owned oil company, Pemex; strengthening competition in the telecoms industry; promoting private-bank and public development-bank lending. Also, political reforms allowed re-election (formerly prohibited) to all legislative posts, and gave key regulatory agencies independence from the executive. Would these reforms actually be implemented on the ground? Would they achieve good growth for more jobs and better income distribution? Would they finally make Mexican democracy work, or partly restore the hegemony of the old ruling party?
Swot Analysis of "Can Mexico Make Democracy Work?" written by Gunnar Trumbull, Jonathan Schlefer includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Reforms Democracy facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competition, Currency, Economic development, Economics, Policy, Regulation and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, 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, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Can Mexico Make Democracy Work?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Reforms Democracy, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Reforms Democracy 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 Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Reforms Democracy
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 Reforms Democracy
Strengths Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Reforms Democracy in Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Reforms Democracy in the sector have low bargaining power. Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Reforms Democracy to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Reforms Democracy 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
– Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Reforms Democracy to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Reforms Democracy to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Reforms Democracy 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 Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Reforms Democracy 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 Reforms Democracy in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Reforms Democracy is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? 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.
Analytics focus
– Reforms Democracy 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 Gunnar Trumbull, Jonathan Schlefer 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.
Training and development
– Reforms Democracy has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? 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.
Learning organization
- Reforms Democracy 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 Reforms Democracy is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Reforms Democracy is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Reforms Democracy is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? 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 Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Reforms Democracy products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Reforms Democracy needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Reforms Democracy supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Can Mexico Make Democracy Work?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Reforms Democracy vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Can Mexico Make Democracy Work?, in the dynamic environment Reforms Democracy has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Reforms Democracy has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Reforms Democracy 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Reforms Democracy is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Reforms Democracy needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Reforms Democracy to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Reforms Democracy 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. Reforms Democracy 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 Can Mexico Make Democracy Work?, is just above the industry average. Reforms Democracy 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? 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 Reforms Democracy has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? 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 Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Reforms Democracy is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Reforms Democracy 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Reforms Democracy 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.
Opportunities Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? | 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 Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Reforms Democracy 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Reforms Democracy can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Reforms Democracy operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Reforms Democracy 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Reforms Democracy 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.
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. Reforms Democracy 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. Reforms Democracy 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
– Reforms Democracy 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Reforms Democracy 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 Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Reforms Democracy to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Reforms Democracy is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Reforms Democracy can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Reforms Democracy to increase its market reach. Reforms Democracy 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Reforms Democracy 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Reforms Democracy 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 Reforms Democracy to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Reforms Democracy can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? 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. Reforms Democracy can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Reforms Democracy with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Reforms Democracy 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. Reforms Democracy can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Reforms Democracy is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Reforms Democracy 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 Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? .
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Reforms Democracy 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Reforms Democracy 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.
Increasing wage structure of Reforms Democracy
– 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 Reforms Democracy.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Reforms Democracy has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Reforms Democracy 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.
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 Reforms Democracy in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Reforms Democracy business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? 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 Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? 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 Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? 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 Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? 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 Can Mexico Make Democracy Work? 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 Reforms Democracy needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.