Swot Analysis of "BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION" written by Paul Strebel, Brian Rogers includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Imd519 Deepwater facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Imd519 Deepwater, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Imd519 Deepwater 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 BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Imd519 Deepwater
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 Imd519 Deepwater
Strengths BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Imd519 Deepwater in BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Imd519 Deepwater is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Imd519 Deepwater in the sector have low bargaining power. BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Imd519 Deepwater to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Imd519 Deepwater has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Imd519 Deepwater to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Imd519 Deepwater 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 Paul Strebel, Brian Rogers 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.
Organizational Resilience of Imd519 Deepwater
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Imd519 Deepwater does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Imd519 Deepwater 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 Imd519 Deepwater in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Imd519 Deepwater 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Imd519 Deepwater 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Imd519 Deepwater has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Imd519 Deepwater 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Imd519 Deepwater 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 BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Imd519 Deepwater 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 Imd519 Deepwater is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Imd519 Deepwater is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION 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.
Weaknesses BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION are -
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 Imd519 Deepwater supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Imd519 Deepwater vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION, is just above the industry average. Imd519 Deepwater 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Imd519 Deepwater 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. Imd519 Deepwater 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 BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION, in the dynamic environment Imd519 Deepwater has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Imd519 Deepwater has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Imd519 Deepwater is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Imd519 Deepwater needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Imd519 Deepwater to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Imd519 Deepwater is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Paul Strebel, Brian Rogers suggests that, Imd519 Deepwater 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Imd519 Deepwater 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 - BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Imd519 Deepwater 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION 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 Imd519 Deepwater has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION 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 BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Imd519 Deepwater is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION | 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 BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION are -
Manufacturing automation
– Imd519 Deepwater can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Imd519 Deepwater 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 Imd519 Deepwater to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Imd519 Deepwater 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 BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Imd519 Deepwater to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Imd519 Deepwater can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Imd519 Deepwater is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Imd519 Deepwater can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Imd519 Deepwater 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.
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 Imd519 Deepwater in the consumer business. Now Imd519 Deepwater can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Imd519 Deepwater has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Imd519 Deepwater to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION case study. Imd519 Deepwater can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Imd519 Deepwater 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, BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Imd519 Deepwater 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Imd519 Deepwater 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.
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. Imd519 Deepwater 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. Imd519 Deepwater 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.
Threats BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION, Imd519 Deepwater 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Imd519 Deepwater 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 Imd519 Deepwater 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.
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 Imd519 Deepwater in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Imd519 Deepwater business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Imd519 Deepwater has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Imd519 Deepwater 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.
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. Imd519 Deepwater needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Imd519 Deepwater 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.
Increasing wage structure of Imd519 Deepwater
– 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 Imd519 Deepwater.
Regulatory challenges
– Imd519 Deepwater 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Imd519 Deepwater is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Imd519 Deepwater with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Imd519 Deepwater 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION 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 BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION 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 BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION 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 BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION 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 BRITISH PETROLEUM (B): THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION 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 Imd519 Deepwater needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
