Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) 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 (A)
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 (A)" 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 (A) 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 (A) casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A)
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 (A) 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 (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) 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 (A) | 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 (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Hossie Leone is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) 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.
Training and development
– Hossie Leone has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Hossie Leone in the sector have low bargaining power. Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Hossie Leone to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) 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.
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 (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hossie Leone 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.
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 (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Hossie Leone 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 Brian C. Pinkham, Ken Mark can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
High 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 (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) | 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 (A) are -
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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) 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 (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hossie Leone is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hossie Leone is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) 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
– Hossie Leone 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.
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.
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 (A), 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Hossie Leone has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Hossie Leone even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Hossie Leone 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) 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 Hossie Leone has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A), 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A), 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.
Opportunities Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) | 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 (A) are -
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.
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.
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.
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 Hossie Leone in the consumer business. Now Hossie Leone can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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.
Buying journey improvements
– Hossie Leone can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) 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.
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.
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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Hossie Leone 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, Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hossie Leone can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hossie Leone operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hossie Leone is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Hossie Leone 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.
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.
Threats Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) 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 (A) are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Hossie Leone can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 (A), 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 .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Hossie Leone 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. Hossie Leone 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 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hossie Leone with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 (A) .
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Doing Business in Sierra Leone: Graeme Hossie at London Mining (A) 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 (A) 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 (A) 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 (A) 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 (A) 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.