Case Study Description of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA)
In 2011 the World Bank and others were concerned that cities all over the developing world were losing their battle with increasing traffic congestion in part because they lacked institutions that had the authority and the capacity to promote public transportation in an integrated fashion. Lagos was one of the few major cities in the developing world to have a metropolitan area public transportation authority with broad powers, independent resources and a staff of international quality. The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) had some early successes but other agencies were expanding their roles raising the question as to how LAMATA's success could be maintained and replicated. Case number 2052.0
Swot Analysis of "Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA)" written by Jose Gomez-Ibanez includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lagos Authority facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lagos Authority, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lagos Authority 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 Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lagos Authority
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 Lagos Authority
Strengths Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lagos Authority in Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Lagos Authority in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Lagos Authority 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 Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Lagos Authority is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) 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 Lagos Authority 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Lagos Authority digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Lagos Authority 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Lagos Authority 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 Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Lagos Authority 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 Lagos Authority is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Lagos Authority to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Lagos Authority to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Lagos Authority has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) 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.
Analytics focus
– Lagos Authority 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 Jose Gomez-Ibanez 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Lagos Authority 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 Lagos Authority in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Lagos Authority has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Lagos Authority 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 Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Lagos Authority 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.
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 Lagos Authority supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Lagos Authority vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Lagos Authority 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) 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 Lagos Authority 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jose Gomez-Ibanez suggests that, Lagos Authority 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Lagos Authority 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 - Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) HBR case study mentions - Lagos Authority 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) 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 Lagos Authority has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA), is just above the industry average. Lagos Authority 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA), it seems that the employees of Lagos Authority 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Lagos Authority 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. Lagos Authority 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.
Opportunities Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) | 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 Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) are -
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. Lagos Authority can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Lagos Authority can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Lagos Authority 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Lagos Authority 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.
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. Lagos Authority 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. Lagos Authority 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Lagos Authority is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Lagos Authority 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 Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Lagos Authority to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Lagos Authority can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) 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.
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. Lagos Authority can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Lagos Authority has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Lagos Authority to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) case study. Lagos Authority can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 Lagos Authority in the consumer business. Now Lagos Authority can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Lagos Authority 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Lagos Authority 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 Lagos Authority to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Lagos Authority 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Lagos Authority with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Lagos Authority 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. Lagos Authority can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Lagos Authority.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Lagos Authority 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Lagos Authority 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 Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) .
Increasing wage structure of Lagos Authority
– 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 Lagos Authority.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Lagos Authority 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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Lagos Authority has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Lagos Authority 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.
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 Lagos Authority in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Lagos Authority will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) 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 Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) 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 Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) 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 Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) 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 Lagos Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (LAMATA) 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 Lagos Authority needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
