Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia
In 2003, a Namibian entrepreneur was deciding how to finance and manage the risks of an ecotourism, nature reserve, venture project. Explores the challenges facing an entrepreneur operating in an emerging market with imperfect local financial and legal institutions.
Authors :: Peter Hecht, Brooke Parry Hecht, Kavita Kapur MacLeod
Swot Analysis of "Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia" written by Peter Hecht, Brooke Parry Hecht, Kavita Kapur MacLeod includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Reserve Namibian facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial analysis, Financial management, Government, Risk management, Sustainability and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Reserve Namibian, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Reserve Namibian 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 Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Reserve Namibian
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Reserve Namibian
Strengths Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Reserve Namibian in Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Reserve Namibian is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Reserve Namibian has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Reserve Namibian 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.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Reserve Namibian digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Reserve Namibian 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Reserve Namibian 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Reserve Namibian in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Reserve Namibian 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 Reserve Namibian in the sector have low bargaining power. Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Reserve Namibian to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Reserve Namibian has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Reserve Namibian is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Reserve Namibian 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 Peter Hecht, Brooke Parry Hecht, Kavita Kapur MacLeod 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Reserve Namibian is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia 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.
Weaknesses Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Peter Hecht, Brooke Parry Hecht, Kavita Kapur MacLeod suggests that, Reserve Namibian 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Reserve Namibian has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Reserve Namibian products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Reserve Namibian needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Reserve Namibian 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. Reserve Namibian 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Reserve Namibian has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Reserve Namibian 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Reserve Namibian is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Reserve Namibian needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Reserve Namibian to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Reserve Namibian is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia, in the dynamic environment Reserve Namibian has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Reserve Namibian 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
Reserve Namibian 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 Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia | 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 Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Reserve Namibian can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Reserve Namibian can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
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 Reserve Namibian 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Reserve Namibian can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia 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.
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. Reserve Namibian can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Reserve Namibian to increase its market reach. Reserve Namibian 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, Reserve Namibian 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, Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Reserve Namibian can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Reserve Namibian 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. Reserve Namibian 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Reserve Namibian 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Reserve Namibian 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 Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Reserve Namibian to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Reserve Namibian 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Reserve Namibian in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Reserve Namibian 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Reserve Namibian 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 Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia .
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 Reserve Namibian in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Reserve Namibian is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Reserve Namibian 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Reserve Namibian 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Reserve Namibian can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Reserve Namibian needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Reserve Namibian
– 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 Reserve Namibian.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Reserve Namibian in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia, Reserve Namibian may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Reserve Namibian 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia 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 Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia 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 Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia 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 Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia 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 Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia 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 Reserve Namibian needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
