Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round
This note analyzes disputes over intellectual property enforcement and agricultural trade barriers at the center of the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. Fundamental principles of intellectual property rights and agricultural subsidies are described, along with the challenges of creating and operating multilateral institutions. The note begins with a brief history of multilateral negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), then describes key events of the Doha Round that began in 2001, and the WTO's dispute settlement process. A stalemate has developed between developed and developing countries in WTO talks, leading to the proliferation of bilateral agreements. The note challenges readers to develop an informed position on global trade governance and the economic benefits and political tradeoffs associated with reduced trade barriers and the elimination of domestic subsidies.
Swot Analysis of "Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round" written by Arthur A. Daemmrich includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Doha Subsidies facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Globalization, Policy and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Doha Subsidies, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Doha Subsidies 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 Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Doha Subsidies
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 Doha Subsidies
Strengths Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Doha Subsidies in Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Doha Subsidies
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Doha Subsidies does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Doha Subsidies 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 Doha Subsidies is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Doha Subsidies has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Doha Subsidies is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Doha Subsidies 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Doha Subsidies in the sector have low bargaining power. Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Doha Subsidies to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Doha Subsidies is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Doha Subsidies 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 Doha Subsidies in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Doha Subsidies has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Doha Subsidies 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
– Doha Subsidies is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Doha Subsidies to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Doha Subsidies to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Doha Subsidies 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round 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 Doha Subsidies 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round 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 Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Doha Subsidies is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round, is just above the industry average. Doha Subsidies 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, Arthur A. Daemmrich suggests that, Doha Subsidies 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round, it seems that the employees of Doha Subsidies 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 to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Doha Subsidies is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Doha Subsidies 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.
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 Doha Subsidies supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Doha Subsidies vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Doha Subsidies products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Doha Subsidies needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Doha Subsidies 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.
Opportunities Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round | 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 Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Doha Subsidies 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, Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Doha Subsidies can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Doha Subsidies operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Doha Subsidies 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Doha Subsidies is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round 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 Doha Subsidies can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Doha Subsidies 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Doha Subsidies 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Doha Subsidies can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Doha Subsidies 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Doha Subsidies has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Doha Subsidies 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.
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 Doha Subsidies 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.
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. Doha Subsidies can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Doha Subsidies 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Doha Subsidies is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
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 Doha Subsidies business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Doha Subsidies has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Doha Subsidies 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Doha Subsidies 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. Doha Subsidies needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Doha Subsidies 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Doha Subsidies 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.
Environmental challenges
– Doha Subsidies 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. Doha Subsidies can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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. Doha Subsidies can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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 Doha Subsidies in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round 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 Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round 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 Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round 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 Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round 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 Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round 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 Doha Subsidies needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.