Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement
This tape includes the highlights of question and answer sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, one of the largest mobile phone companies in India. The video focuses on the challenges and lessons learned from Bharti's innovative outsourcing agreements. The Q&A sessions were recorded as part of Professor Asis Martinez-Jerez's Customer Intelligence Advantage elective class sessions in 2006, 2007, and 2009, held on the HBS campus.
Swot Analysis of "Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement" written by F. Asis Martinez-Jerez, Lisa Brem includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sessions Akhil facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sessions Akhil, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sessions Akhil 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 Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sessions Akhil
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 Sessions Akhil
Strengths Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sessions Akhil in Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Sessions Akhil 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 F. Asis Martinez-Jerez, Lisa Brem 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 brand equity
– Sessions Akhil has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sessions Akhil to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sessions Akhil 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sessions Akhil has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sessions Akhil is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement 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.
Organizational Resilience of Sessions Akhil
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sessions Akhil does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Sessions Akhil is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Sessions Akhil has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement 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
– Sessions Akhil 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 Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Sessions Akhil is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Sessions Akhil 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 Sessions Akhil is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, F. Asis Martinez-Jerez, Lisa Brem suggests that, Sessions Akhil 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement, is just above the industry average. Sessions Akhil 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Sessions Akhil 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement, 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Sessions Akhil 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sessions Akhil is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sessions Akhil 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. Sessions Akhil 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement HBR case study mentions - Sessions Akhil 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement, it seems that the employees of Sessions Akhil 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sessions Akhil 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement, in the dynamic environment Sessions Akhil has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sessions Akhil has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement | 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 Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sessions Akhil can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sessions Akhil operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sessions Akhil 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 Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sessions Akhil to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sessions Akhil to increase its market reach. Sessions Akhil 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sessions Akhil has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sessions Akhil to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement case study. Sessions Akhil can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Sessions Akhil 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. Sessions Akhil 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. Sessions Akhil 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sessions Akhil 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sessions Akhil 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sessions Akhil can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Sessions Akhil can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sessions Akhil 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, Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sessions Akhil 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 Sessions Akhil to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Sessions Akhil can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement are -
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. Sessions Akhil can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Sessions Akhil 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. Sessions Akhil can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Sessions Akhil.
Increasing wage structure of Sessions Akhil
– 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 Sessions Akhil.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sessions Akhil 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Sessions Akhil 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement, Sessions Akhil 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 .
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 Sessions Akhil in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sessions Akhil with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sessions Akhil demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sessions Akhil is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement 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 Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement 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 Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement 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 Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement 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 Q and A Sessions with Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, Video Supplement 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 Sessions Akhil needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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