Case Study Description of Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance
As a veteran international development specialist, Vivian Lowery Derryck spent 35 years trying to influence governments in Africa by working with State Department and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) officials, African heads of state, and non-profit leaders across the continent. She believed the right outside pressure and expert collaboration could meaningfully shape U.S. foreign policy toward Africa and improve democracy in African governance. Derryck left her tenure as Senior Vice President and Director of Public-Private Partnerships at the former Academy for Educational Development (AED) and joined the inaugural Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellowship program at Harvard University. She thought it would be an ideal opportunity to build on a long-standing desire to start an institute to build African democracy and strengthen good governance on the continent. She launched the Bridges Institute to promote civil society as a pivotal actor in bringing about more inclusive and effective policy dialogue in Africa. This case follows her journey and raises important questions about how to achieve such large scale change.
Swot Analysis of "Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Kelsi Stine-Rowe includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Derryck Lowery facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Negotiations, Policy, Strategy and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Derryck Lowery, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Derryck Lowery 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 Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Derryck Lowery
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 Derryck Lowery
Strengths Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Derryck Lowery in Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Derryck Lowery 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.
Organizational Resilience of Derryck Lowery
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Derryck Lowery does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Derryck Lowery has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance 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
- Derryck Lowery 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 Derryck Lowery is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Derryck Lowery is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Strong track record of project management
– Derryck Lowery is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Derryck Lowery is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Derryck Lowery has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Derryck Lowery 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
– Derryck Lowery is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance 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.
High brand equity
– Derryck Lowery has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Derryck Lowery to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Derryck Lowery 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 Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Derryck Lowery in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance, 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Derryck Lowery 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance 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 Derryck Lowery has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance 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 Derryck Lowery 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance HBR case study mentions - Derryck Lowery 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance, in the dynamic environment Derryck Lowery has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Derryck Lowery has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance, it seems that the employees of Derryck Lowery 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, Derryck Lowery is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Derryck Lowery 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. Derryck Lowery 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Derryck Lowery, firm in the HBR case study Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Derryck Lowery products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Derryck Lowery needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance | 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 Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Derryck Lowery 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Loyalty marketing
– Derryck Lowery 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Derryck Lowery is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance 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 Derryck Lowery can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Derryck Lowery 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 Derryck Lowery to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Derryck Lowery 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Derryck Lowery 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 Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Derryck Lowery 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 Derryck Lowery 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.
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 Derryck Lowery in the consumer business. Now Derryck Lowery can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Derryck Lowery 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.
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. Derryck Lowery can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Derryck Lowery 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Derryck Lowery has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Derryck Lowery to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance case study. Derryck Lowery can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Derryck Lowery with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Derryck Lowery is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Derryck Lowery 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.
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. Derryck Lowery can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Derryck Lowery 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 Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Derryck Lowery 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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Derryck Lowery 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.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Derryck Lowery will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Derryck Lowery has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Derryck Lowery needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 Derryck Lowery in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Derryck Lowery needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance 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 Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance 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 Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance 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 Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance 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 Vivian Lowery Derryck and African Governance 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 Derryck Lowery needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.