South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle?
Fifteen years after ending apartheid, formal unemployment in South Africa was still at 24%. While the country had grown at 4 to 5% annually during the 2000s, the financial crisis set it back by 1 million more unemployed. Moreover, it seemed as if the nation were stuck between low wage and fully developed competitors. The government of Jacob Zuma has just adopted a "New Growth Path," hoping to create several million jobs over the next few years. Both the Finance Minister and the head of the Central Bank support the initiative, but worry how they can sustain fiscal discipline and control inflation, in light of these stimulative policies. Organized labor, meanwhile, has little sympathy for any sort of sacrifice.
Swot Analysis of "South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle?" written by Richard H.K. Vietor, Diego Comin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Stuck Stimulative facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competition, Competitive strategy, Labor, Productivity, Recession and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Stuck Stimulative, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Stuck Stimulative 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 South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Stuck Stimulative
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 Stuck Stimulative
Strengths South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Stuck Stimulative in South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Stuck Stimulative is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? 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.
Analytics focus
– Stuck Stimulative 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 Richard H.K. Vietor, Diego Comin 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Stuck Stimulative 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 South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Stuck Stimulative is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Stuck Stimulative
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Stuck Stimulative does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Stuck Stimulative in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Stuck Stimulative to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Stuck Stimulative to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Stuck Stimulative 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 South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Stuck Stimulative has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Stuck Stimulative 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
– Stuck Stimulative is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? 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.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Stuck Stimulative digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Stuck Stimulative 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.
Weaknesses South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? HBR case study mentions - Stuck Stimulative 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? 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 Stuck Stimulative 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? 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 Stuck Stimulative has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle?, is just above the industry average. Stuck Stimulative 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 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 Stuck Stimulative supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Stuck Stimulative vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Stuck Stimulative, firm in the HBR case study South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Stuck Stimulative 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. Stuck Stimulative even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Stuck Stimulative is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Stuck Stimulative 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Stuck Stimulative products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Stuck Stimulative needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Richard H.K. Vietor, Diego Comin suggests that, Stuck Stimulative 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.
Opportunities South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? | 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 South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? are -
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. Stuck Stimulative can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Stuck Stimulative in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Stuck Stimulative can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Stuck Stimulative operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Stuck Stimulative 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Stuck Stimulative can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Global Business segment.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Stuck Stimulative 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 South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Stuck Stimulative to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Stuck Stimulative in the consumer business. Now Stuck Stimulative can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Stuck Stimulative 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Stuck Stimulative is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? 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. Stuck Stimulative can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Stuck Stimulative can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Stuck Stimulative 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
– Stuck Stimulative 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.
Threats South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Stuck Stimulative 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.
Environmental challenges
– Stuck Stimulative 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. Stuck Stimulative can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Stuck Stimulative.
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. Stuck Stimulative can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle?, Stuck Stimulative 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 .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Stuck Stimulative 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.
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 Stuck Stimulative in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Stuck Stimulative 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Stuck Stimulative 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Stuck Stimulative 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Stuck Stimulative with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Stuck Stimulative 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 Stuck Stimulative business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? 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 South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? 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 South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? 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 South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? 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 South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle? 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 Stuck Stimulative needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
