Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B)
Supplement to case W16899. In 2008, Graeme Hossie, co-founder and chief executive officer of London Mining, an iron-ore mining firm, was preparing to assist the London Mining team in its negotiations for a project in Sierra Leone. Hossie was to meet with representatives from the government of Sierra Leone, a local city mayor, and landowners to acquire a property that included an old iron-ore mine. The mine was a potentially high-grade iron-ore mine that would be lucrative for London Mining. Hossie needed to develop a negotiating strategy to ensure that the business and legal talks went smoothly and that the company retained as much control as possible over the project. The "A" case focuses on the background of the project, including the business environment in the United Kingdom and in Sierra Leone; the "B" case describes what happened as the negotiations unfolded, and how Hossie managed the various setbacks that he encountered.
Swot Analysis of "Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B)" written by Brian C. Pinkham, Ken Mark includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hossie Leone facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Regulation, Risk management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hossie Leone, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hossie Leone 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 Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hossie Leone
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 Hossie Leone
Strengths Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hossie Leone in Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Hossie Leone is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Hossie Leone 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 Hossie Leone in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hossie Leone is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Hossie Leone 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hossie Leone 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 Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Hossie Leone 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 Hossie Leone is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Hossie Leone
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hossie Leone does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hossie Leone digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hossie Leone 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hossie Leone has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hossie Leone 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.
High brand equity
– Hossie Leone has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hossie Leone to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Hossie Leone is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) 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.
Weaknesses Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Hossie Leone, firm in the HBR case study Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B), it seems that the employees of Hossie Leone 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Hossie Leone 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B), is just above the industry average. Hossie Leone 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) 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 Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hossie Leone is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Hossie Leone supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hossie Leone vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B), 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B), in the dynamic environment Hossie Leone has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hossie Leone has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Hossie Leone 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Hossie Leone 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Brian C. Pinkham, Ken Mark suggests that, Hossie Leone 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.
Opportunities Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) | 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 Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Hossie Leone can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Hossie Leone 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hossie Leone to increase its market reach. Hossie Leone 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.
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. Hossie Leone 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. Hossie Leone 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Hossie Leone has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Hossie Leone to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) case study. Hossie Leone can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Hossie Leone can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hossie Leone 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Hossie Leone 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 Hossie Leone 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Hossie Leone 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 Hossie Leone 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.
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. Hossie Leone can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Hossie Leone 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.
Threats Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hossie Leone 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.
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 Hossie Leone business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Hossie Leone 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hossie Leone 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 Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hossie Leone 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.
Increasing wage structure of Hossie Leone
– 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 Hossie Leone.
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.
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. Hossie Leone needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hossie Leone 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B), Hossie Leone 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Hossie Leone is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Hossie Leone has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Hossie Leone 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) 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 Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) 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 Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) 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 Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) 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 Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (B) 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 Hossie Leone needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
