Case Study Description of "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE
Rohan Patel was looking at the building site outside the window of his third-floor office in Westlands, the upmarket business district of Nairobi, Kenya. Although the construction work would be finished in a few weeks' time, it had taken a total of 18 months to complete and was seriously behind schedule. In early 2009, time was definitely money for Rohan's family firm, Grenadier Limited. The building was to be the first of a chain of contemporary five star hotels catering to the needs of business travelers in urban centers in Africa.The chain would be the latest addition to Grenadier's portfolio. Rohan hoped it would not be plagued by the occupancy problems that Larsens Camp was experiencing - one of the three properties that made up Wilderness Lodges, the company's other luxury hospitality business. The tourist trade in Kenya had been hit by the double whammy of political violence followed by the credit crunch and global recession, both of which had been nothing short of disastrous for the hospitality business. The tourism crisis, in turn, led to a renewal of public debate around the sustainable management of Kenya's natural resources. Some operators saw an opportunity to push for a relaxation of existing rules for establishing hotels and resorts in and around nature reserves, which would create new jobs and increase tax revenues for the state and local councils. However, nature preservationists and environmental NGOs wanted to protect the animal sanctuaries and the local communities that often lost their ancestors' lands to the nature reserves without getting much in return. In addition to getting the new venture off the ground and taking the risk of stepping on the toes of established players, Rohan needed to tackle these other challenges: How could the group rebuild a value proposition for tourists and restore occupancy rates at Larsens Camp? What was the best way to restructure the company to ensure financial stability? How could it find the proper balance between its business and the environment, thus ensuring the future of its resorts? Learning objectives: The case discusses various issues including social responsibility in the context of a hospitality business in Kenya's Samburu Nature Reserve; the heritage of the Indian diaspora in East Africa and its business activities and modus operandi; the transition of a third-generation family member who returns from Europe to join the family business; and sustainability management of the family's sprawling business empire. The case also provides an original setting for the discussion of stakeholder management (the bush).
Swot Analysis of ""LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE" written by Benoit Leleux, Aoife Hegarty includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Larsens Rohan facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Talent management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization,
wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Larsens Rohan, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Larsens Rohan 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 "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Larsens Rohan
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 Larsens Rohan
Strengths "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Larsens Rohan in "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Larsens Rohan digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Larsens Rohan 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.
Training and development
– Larsens Rohan has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Larsens Rohan in the sector have low bargaining power. "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Larsens Rohan to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Larsens Rohan 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 Larsens Rohan in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Larsens Rohan is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Larsens Rohan 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 Larsens Rohan
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Larsens Rohan does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Larsens Rohan 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 Larsens Rohan is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Larsens Rohan to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Larsens Rohan to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Larsens Rohan 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 Benoit Leleux, Aoife Hegarty 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Larsens Rohan 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.
High brand equity
– Larsens Rohan has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Larsens Rohan to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE HBR case study mentions - Larsens Rohan 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Larsens Rohan has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Need for greater diversity
– Larsens Rohan 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE, is just above the industry average. Larsens Rohan 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE 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 Larsens Rohan has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Larsens Rohan supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Larsens Rohan vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Larsens Rohan, firm in the HBR case study "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE 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 Larsens Rohan 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Larsens Rohan is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Larsens Rohan products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Larsens Rohan needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE, 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.
Opportunities "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE | 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 "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Larsens Rohan 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, "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Larsens Rohan is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE 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 Larsens Rohan can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Larsens Rohan 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.
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. Larsens Rohan 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. Larsens Rohan 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Larsens Rohan 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Larsens Rohan 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Larsens Rohan 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Larsens Rohan 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Larsens Rohan has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Larsens Rohan to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE case study. Larsens Rohan can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Larsens Rohan 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.
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. Larsens Rohan can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Larsens Rohan can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Larsens Rohan operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Threats "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Larsens Rohan 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 "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE .
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
– Larsens Rohan 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. Larsens Rohan can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Larsens Rohan in the Leadership & Managing People 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. Larsens Rohan needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Larsens Rohan is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Larsens Rohan can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Larsens Rohan 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 Larsens Rohan
– 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 Larsens Rohan.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Larsens Rohan 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.
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
– Larsens Rohan 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Larsens Rohan 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE 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 "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE 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 "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE 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 "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE 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 "LARSENS CAMP: CRISIS IN KENYA'S ELEPHANT PARADISE 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 Larsens Rohan needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.