Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version
On Thursday January 27, 2011, hundreds of thousands of protesters in Egypt were vociferously demanding an end to the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak, and to the state of emergency he had let prevail, and nurtured during that tenure. The protest movement was expected to gather even greater momentum following the afternoon prayers the next day, a Friday. The communication and connectivity through social media had acted as a key catalyst in enabling the protesters to coordinate their actions. President Mubarak's government decided to strike hard at the lifeline of this virtual medium, by exploiting some of the rights that the state of emergency had accorded them. That afternoon, the government ordered the three main voice and data communications providers in Egypt - Vodafone, Mobinil, and Etisalat - to suspend services in selected areas. Among these areas was Tahrir Square ("Freedom/Martyrs' Square") in Cairo, the biggest nucleus where protesters had assembled. Later, the government would also instruct these communications providers to broadcast propaganda text messages to all their subscribers, imploring them to be on the side of the Egyptian Army, which the government said was the true protector of Egypt. When Hatem Dowidar, CEO of Vodafone Egypt, heard about the government's order, he was about to take a crucial decision. He knew that the situation in Egypt was being observed closely from all over the world. Dowidar also realized that the course of action he opted for would have consequences not just for Vodafone Egypt, but also for the parent Vodafone Group. He contemplated the possible consequences, well aware that any decision he took would invariably evoke strong reactions. The case won the 2014 Case Centre case writing award "Hot topic: Crisis as opportunity."
Swot Analysis of "Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version" written by Urs Mueller, Shirish Pandit includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Egypt Vodafone facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Ethics, Government, Social responsibility and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Egypt Vodafone, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Egypt Vodafone 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 Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Egypt Vodafone
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 Egypt Vodafone
Strengths Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Egypt Vodafone in Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Egypt Vodafone 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Egypt Vodafone digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Egypt Vodafone 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Training and development
– Egypt Vodafone has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Egypt Vodafone 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 Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Egypt Vodafone
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Egypt Vodafone does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Egypt Vodafone is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Egypt Vodafone is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Egypt Vodafone 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Egypt Vodafone 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 Egypt Vodafone in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Egypt Vodafone has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Egypt Vodafone 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Egypt Vodafone is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Egypt Vodafone is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Egypt Vodafone needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Egypt Vodafone to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Egypt Vodafone 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 - Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Egypt Vodafone 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version HBR case study mentions - Egypt Vodafone 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version 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 Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Egypt Vodafone is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version, is just above the industry average. Egypt Vodafone 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version, in the dynamic environment Egypt Vodafone has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Egypt Vodafone has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Egypt Vodafone has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version, it seems that the employees of Egypt Vodafone don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Lack of clear differentiation of Egypt Vodafone products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Egypt Vodafone needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Egypt Vodafone, firm in the HBR case study Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version | 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 Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version are -
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. Egypt Vodafone 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. Egypt Vodafone 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Egypt Vodafone 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, Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version, 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, Egypt Vodafone is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Egypt Vodafone can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Egypt Vodafone can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Egypt Vodafone 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.
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 Egypt Vodafone in the consumer business. Now Egypt Vodafone can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Egypt Vodafone 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 Egypt Vodafone to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Egypt Vodafone 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Egypt Vodafone 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Egypt Vodafone can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Egypt Vodafone operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Egypt Vodafone 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Egypt Vodafone to increase its market reach. Egypt Vodafone 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.
Threats Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version 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 Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version, Egypt Vodafone 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. Egypt Vodafone 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.
Environmental challenges
– Egypt Vodafone 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. Egypt Vodafone can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Egypt Vodafone with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Egypt Vodafone 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Egypt Vodafone is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Egypt Vodafone.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Egypt Vodafone 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 Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Egypt Vodafone has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Egypt Vodafone 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.
Increasing wage structure of Egypt Vodafone
– 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 Egypt Vodafone.
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. Egypt Vodafone can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version 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 Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version 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 Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version 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 Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version 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 Vodafone in Egypt: National crises and their implications for multinational corporations (B), Spanish Version 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 Egypt Vodafone needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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