Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands
The chief executive officer of an oil and gas company must decide whether he wants to invest heavily in reducing greenhouse gases. Specifically, Suncor Energy must evaluate whether it should invest $425 million in carbon capture and storage or wait until there is greater certainty in the political, social and business environment. The case will help students develop skills of analyzing business decisions under higher environmental uncertainty, especially when the outcome is a long-term goal. Further, the issues presented in the case open up discussions about climate change and the interaction between business actions and societal expectations. There is also an opportunity to speak about the interaction between business and public policy.
Swot Analysis of "Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands" written by Pratima Bansal, Jijun Gao includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Suncor Interaction facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial analysis, Financial management, Government, International business, Managing uncertainty, Sustainability and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Suncor Interaction, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Suncor Interaction 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 Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Suncor Interaction
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Suncor Interaction
Strengths Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Suncor Interaction in Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Suncor Interaction to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Suncor Interaction to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Suncor Interaction has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Suncor Interaction to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Suncor Interaction 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 Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Suncor Interaction in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Suncor Interaction has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Suncor Interaction 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 Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Suncor Interaction in the sector have low bargaining power. Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Suncor Interaction to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Suncor Interaction 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 Suncor Interaction in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Suncor Interaction is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Suncor Interaction 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 Pratima Bansal, Jijun Gao 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Suncor Interaction digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Suncor Interaction 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Suncor Interaction is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Suncor Interaction 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. Suncor Interaction 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands, in the dynamic environment Suncor Interaction has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Suncor Interaction has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Suncor Interaction has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands 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 Suncor Interaction 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Suncor Interaction 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 Suncor Interaction products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Suncor Interaction needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Suncor Interaction is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands 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 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 Suncor Interaction supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Suncor Interaction vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Suncor Interaction 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands 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 Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Suncor Interaction is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Suncor Interaction has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Opportunities Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands | 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 Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Suncor Interaction can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Suncor Interaction 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Suncor Interaction 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. Suncor Interaction 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Suncor Interaction 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 Leadership & Managing People 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 Suncor Interaction 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Suncor Interaction 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.
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. Suncor Interaction 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 Suncor Interaction in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Suncor Interaction 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, Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Suncor Interaction 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Suncor Interaction can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Suncor Interaction to increase its market reach. Suncor Interaction 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Suncor Interaction 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 Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Suncor Interaction to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Suncor Interaction 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.
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 Suncor Interaction.
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 Suncor Interaction business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands, Suncor Interaction may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
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. Suncor Interaction 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Suncor Interaction 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. Suncor Interaction can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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. Suncor Interaction needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Suncor Interaction
– 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 Suncor Interaction.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Suncor Interaction in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Suncor Interaction 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Suncor Interaction can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Suncor Interaction has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Suncor Interaction needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands 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 Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands 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 Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands 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 Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands 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 Adapting to Climate Change: The Case of Suncor Energy and the Alberta Oil Sands 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 Suncor Interaction needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.