Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner
The case narrates the internal processes of choosing and implementing a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. It illustrates the process of choosing a cause, selecting partners, creating a working plan, and finally getting the company's executive board's commitment.
Authors :: Ramina Samii, Rolando Tomasini, Luk Van Wassenhove
Swot Analysis of "Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner" written by Ramina Samii, Rolando Tomasini, Luk Van Wassenhove includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Choosing Wfp facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Joint ventures, Social responsibility and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, geopolitical disruptions,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Choosing Wfp, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Choosing Wfp 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 Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Choosing Wfp
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 Choosing Wfp
Strengths Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Choosing Wfp in Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Choosing Wfp is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner 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 Choosing Wfp are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Choosing Wfp has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Choosing Wfp to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Choosing Wfp 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 Choosing Wfp in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Choosing Wfp in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Choosing Wfp 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 Choosing Wfp in the sector have low bargaining power. Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Choosing Wfp to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Choosing Wfp digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Choosing Wfp 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 Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Choosing Wfp 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 Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Choosing Wfp
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Choosing Wfp does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Choosing Wfp has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Choosing Wfp 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.
Weaknesses Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ramina Samii, Rolando Tomasini, Luk Van Wassenhove suggests that, Choosing Wfp 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner HBR case study mentions - Choosing Wfp 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Choosing Wfp needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Choosing Wfp 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 - Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Choosing Wfp 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, Choosing Wfp is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner 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 Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner 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 Choosing Wfp has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Choosing Wfp is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Choosing Wfp needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Choosing Wfp to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner, it seems that the employees of Choosing Wfp 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner, in the dynamic environment Choosing Wfp has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Choosing Wfp 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 Choosing Wfp 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.
Opportunities Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner | 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 Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner are -
Manufacturing automation
– Choosing Wfp 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.
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 Choosing Wfp 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Choosing Wfp 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 Choosing Wfp to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Choosing Wfp 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, Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Choosing Wfp can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Choosing Wfp 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.
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 Choosing Wfp in the consumer business. Now Choosing Wfp can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Choosing Wfp 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Choosing Wfp 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 Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Choosing Wfp to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Choosing Wfp can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Choosing Wfp 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Choosing Wfp is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Choosing Wfp 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.
Threats Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner are -
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 Choosing Wfp.
Regulatory challenges
– Choosing Wfp 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Choosing Wfp with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Choosing Wfp needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
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. Choosing Wfp can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Choosing Wfp 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. Choosing Wfp can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Choosing Wfp is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Choosing Wfp 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner, Choosing Wfp 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. Choosing Wfp 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Choosing Wfp 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 Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Choosing Wfp 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner 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 Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner 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 Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner 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 Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner 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 Moving the World: The TPG-WFP Partnership - Looking for a Partner 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 Choosing Wfp needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
