The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry
Cable and Wireless, Jamaica (C&WJ) operated in Jamaica under an exclusive license that made it a virtual monopoly. In 1999, the Government of Jamaica decided to renegotiate the license and liberalize the telecommunications industry. Early in the liberalization process, new companies entered the market and C&WJ struggled to cope with the new, competitive dynamics of the market. Although dominant in the landline market, C&WJ found it difficult to compete in the cellular market, lagging behind relatively new entrant Digicel. The recent entry of AmA?rica MA?vil, operating under the brand name Claro, into the market has intensified the competition and is threatening the relegation of C&WJ into third place. In response, C&WJ in 2008 embarked on a new, high-risk transformation strategy that included corporate rebranding and a change of its name to LIME (Landline, Internet, Mobile and Entertainment). This case chronicles the problems faced by LIME in adjusting to a telecommunications industry paradigm.
Swot Analysis of "The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry" written by Paul Golding, Vanesa Tennant includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Wj Lime facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competition, Competitive strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wj Lime, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wj Lime 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 The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wj Lime
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 Wj Lime
Strengths The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wj Lime in The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Wj Lime 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 Wj Lime
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Wj Lime does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Wj Lime 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 The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Wj Lime has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry 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.
High brand equity
– Wj Lime has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Wj Lime to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Wj Lime 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Wj Lime in the sector have low bargaining power. The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Wj Lime to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry 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.
Learning organization
- Wj Lime 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 Wj Lime is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Wj Lime is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Paul Golding, Vanesa Tennant 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Wj Lime is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Wj Lime to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Wj Lime to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Wj Lime 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Wj Lime is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry 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 Wj Lime has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry HBR case study mentions - Wj Lime 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry, 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry 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 Wj Lime 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry, is just above the industry average. Wj Lime 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, Wj Lime 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Paul Golding, Vanesa Tennant suggests that, Wj Lime 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Wj Lime 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
– Wj Lime 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.
Opportunities The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry | 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 The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Wj Lime 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Wj Lime can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Wj Lime 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.
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. Wj Lime can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Wj Lime 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Wj Lime is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Wj Lime can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Wj Lime operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Wj Lime to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Wj Lime 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 The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Wj Lime to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Wj Lime has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Wj Lime to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry case study. Wj Lime 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 Wj Lime 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.
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. Wj Lime 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. Wj Lime 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 Wj Lime 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.
Threats The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry are -
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 Wj Lime business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Wj Lime in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Wj Lime 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. Wj Lime 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, Wj Lime 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 The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications 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 Wj Lime.
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 Wj Lime 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.
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. Wj Lime 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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Wj Lime has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Wj Lime needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Wj Lime needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry, Wj Lime 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry 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 The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry 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 The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry 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 The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry 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 The Taste Of LIME: Competitive Dynamics and Strategies In The Telecommunications Industry 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 Wj Lime needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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