Swot Analysis of "Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A)" written by V. Kasturi Rangan, Katharine Lee includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bhavani Manjula facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurial finance and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bhavani Manjula, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bhavani Manjula 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 Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bhavani Manjula
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Bhavani Manjula
Strengths Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bhavani Manjula in Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Bhavani Manjula is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bhavani Manjula digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bhavani Manjula 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Bhavani Manjula 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.
Organizational Resilience of Bhavani Manjula
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bhavani Manjula does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bhavani Manjula 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 Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Bhavani Manjula 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.
Training and development
– Bhavani Manjula has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (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.
Analytics focus
– Bhavani Manjula 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 V. Kasturi Rangan, Katharine Lee 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bhavani Manjula is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bhavani Manjula has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bhavani Manjula 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bhavani Manjula in the sector have low bargaining power. Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bhavani Manjula to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) HBR case study mentions - Bhavani Manjula 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bhavani Manjula, firm in the HBR case study Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A), in the dynamic environment Bhavani Manjula has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bhavani Manjula has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bhavani Manjula 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. Bhavani Manjula 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bhavani Manjula 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, V. Kasturi Rangan, Katharine Lee suggests that, Bhavani Manjula 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Bhavani Manjula 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Bhavani Manjula 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (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 Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bhavani Manjula 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, Bhavani Manjula is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Bhavani Manjula products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Bhavani Manjula needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (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 Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bhavani Manjula 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Bhavani Manjula 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. Bhavani Manjula 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bhavani Manjula can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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 Bhavani Manjula to increase its market reach. Bhavani Manjula 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bhavani Manjula can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bhavani Manjula operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bhavani Manjula is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bhavani Manjula 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.
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. Bhavani Manjula can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bhavani Manjula 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Bhavani Manjula can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bhavani Manjula has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bhavani Manjula to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) case study. Bhavani Manjula can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bhavani Manjula 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 Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bhavani Manjula to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Bhavani Manjula 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 Bhavani Manjula to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) are -
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 Bhavani Manjula business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Bhavani Manjula 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. Bhavani Manjula can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A), Bhavani Manjula may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bhavani Manjula 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 Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (A) .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bhavani Manjula 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bhavani Manjula 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Bhavani Manjula can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Bhavani Manjula 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
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 Bhavani Manjula in the Finance & Accounting 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. Bhavani Manjula needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Bhavani Manjula 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bhavani Manjula in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bhavani Manjula with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (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 Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (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 Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (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 Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (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 Who Killed Bhavani Manjula?--A Story of Microfinance in Andhra Pradesh (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 Bhavani Manjula needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.