Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI)
A veteran of the freight forwarding industry, Issa Baluch wanted to transform the education space in Africa by introducing hands-on practical teaching in agriculture and agribusiness. In the summer of 2015 his vision of a practical learning institute for African agriculture workers had finally found its footing as the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI). Several African countries were interested in having AKILI branches; however, Baluch and his team were still working hard to design a concrete model for AKILI and figure out the best possible expansion strategy.
Swot Analysis of "Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI)" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Renee Vuillaume includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Akili Baluch facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Generational issues, Innovation, Knowledge management, Leadership, Strategy, Sustainability and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Akili Baluch, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Akili Baluch 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 Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Akili Baluch
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 Akili Baluch
Strengths Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Akili Baluch in Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Akili Baluch 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 Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Renee Vuillaume 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Akili Baluch digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Akili Baluch 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Akili Baluch 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 Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Akili Baluch has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Akili Baluch 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Akili Baluch in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Akili Baluch to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Akili Baluch to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Akili Baluch has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) 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.
Organizational Resilience of Akili Baluch
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Akili Baluch does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Akili Baluch 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Akili Baluch is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Akili Baluch 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.
Weaknesses Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Renee Vuillaume suggests that, Akili Baluch 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Akili Baluch 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Akili Baluch, firm in the HBR case study Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) 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 Akili Baluch 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI), it seems that the employees of Akili Baluch 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Akili Baluch 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 - Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Akili Baluch 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Akili Baluch is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Akili Baluch 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) 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 Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Akili Baluch is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) HBR case study mentions - Akili Baluch 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.
Opportunities Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) | 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 Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) are -
Buying journey improvements
– Akili Baluch can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) 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.
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. Akili Baluch 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. Akili Baluch 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.
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. Akili Baluch can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Akili Baluch 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Akili Baluch can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Akili Baluch operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Akili Baluch 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 Akili Baluch to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Akili Baluch is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Akili Baluch 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Akili Baluch 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.
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. Akili Baluch can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Akili Baluch 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Akili Baluch to increase its market reach. Akili Baluch 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Akili Baluch 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 Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Akili Baluch 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 Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Akili Baluch is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Akili Baluch 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
– Akili Baluch 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.
Increasing wage structure of Akili Baluch
– 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 Akili Baluch.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Akili Baluch can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Akili Baluch 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.
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. Akili Baluch can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Akili Baluch.
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.
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 Akili Baluch in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Akili Baluch needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Akili Baluch has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Akili Baluch 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) 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 Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) 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 Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) 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 Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) 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 Issa Baluch and the African Agribusiness Knowledge and Innovation Leadership Initiative (AKILI) 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 Akili Baluch needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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