In February 2014, a McKinsey Global Institute report proposed tracking an empowerment line that could enable India's citizens to get out of poverty by providing the resources they needed to build better lives. This prompted Ela Bhatt, founder of the India-based Self-Employed Women's Association, to take stock of her initiative to empower women working in India's informal sector. Since 1972, her organization has been widely acclaimed as a global first mover and active champion of grassroots development. Quickly approaching two million members in India and six neighbouring countries, and inspiring similar efforts in South Africa, Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso, it exemplifies a unique form of positively deviant organizing by speaking to the centrality of human beings at work. Given resources, support and encouragement, its many members have used their own human agency even in the direst of circumstances to better their lives in ways most meaningful to them, for instance, by creating childcare, health care, banking, farming and education cooperatives. However, as she reaches retirement and contemplates the future, Bhatt wonders if the new generation of Indian leaders will take up the Gandhian socially minded path or follow the commercial careers opening up in the country's multinational sector.
Swot Analysis of "SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt" written by Sonia Mehrotra, Oana Branzei includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bhatt Ela facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bhatt Ela, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bhatt Ela 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 SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bhatt Ela
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 Bhatt Ela
Strengths SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bhatt Ela in SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Bhatt Ela 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bhatt Ela is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Bhatt Ela 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 Bhatt Ela in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bhatt Ela to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bhatt Ela to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Bhatt Ela 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.
High brand equity
– Bhatt Ela has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bhatt Ela to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bhatt Ela in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bhatt Ela is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt 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 Bhatt Ela in the sector have low bargaining power. SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bhatt Ela to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Bhatt Ela 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 Sonia Mehrotra, Oana Branzei 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.
Training and development
– Bhatt Ela has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt 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
- Bhatt Ela 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 Bhatt Ela is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt 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 SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bhatt Ela is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt, in the dynamic environment Bhatt Ela has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bhatt Ela 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
Bhatt Ela 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 Bhatt Ela products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Bhatt Ela 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, Bhatt Ela 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. Bhatt Ela 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Bhatt Ela 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 - SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bhatt Ela, firm in the HBR case study SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Bhatt Ela 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt 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 Bhatt Ela 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Bhatt Ela has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Opportunities SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt | 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 SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bhatt Ela 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, SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bhatt Ela 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Bhatt Ela can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bhatt Ela can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing 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. Bhatt Ela can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bhatt Ela can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bhatt Ela operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bhatt Ela can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bhatt Ela 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 SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bhatt Ela to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bhatt Ela 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bhatt Ela is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bhatt Ela 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Bhatt Ela 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
– Bhatt Ela 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.
Threats SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt 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 SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt, Bhatt Ela 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 .
Increasing wage structure of Bhatt Ela
– 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 Bhatt Ela.
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. Bhatt Ela 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, Bhatt Ela 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 SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bhatt Ela with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bhatt Ela has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bhatt Ela 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Bhatt Ela 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.
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 Bhatt Ela business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Bhatt Ela 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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bhatt Ela 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
– Bhatt Ela 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.
Environmental challenges
– Bhatt Ela 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. Bhatt Ela can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt 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 SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt 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 SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt 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 SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt 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 SEWA (A): Ela Bhatt 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 Bhatt Ela needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.