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Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A)


This case profiles the evolution of General Electric's African American Form (AAF), an employee affinity group, and its efforts to increase the company's involvement in Africa. The AAF formed in 1991 to help advance GE's recruitment, retention and development of black employees. By 1995, members of the AAF started asking Jack Welch whether the company was planning to develop business in Africa. After Welch invited the group to conduct due diligence, it was concluded that the timing was not right for GE to make a significant investment in Africa. Yet, when Jeffrey Immelt began attending the AAF Symposia in 2001, the question about GE's involvement in Africa resurfaced. In 2004, Immelt pledged $20 million to fund, "The Africa Project" (later renamed, "Developing Health Globally")-a GE philanthropic effort sponsored by the GE Foundation and the AAF to improve healthcare outcomes in Africa.

Authors :: David A. Thomas, Stephanie J. Creary

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Diversity, Human resource management, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A)" written by David A. Thomas, Stephanie J. Creary includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Aaf Africa facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Diversity, Human resource management and Leadership & Managing People.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A)


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Aaf Africa, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Aaf Africa 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Aaf Africa
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 Aaf Africa




Strengths Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Aaf Africa in Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -

Ability to recruit top talent

– Aaf Africa is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Renewing GE: The Africa Project (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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Aaf Africa 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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Aaf Africa in the sector have low bargaining power. Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Aaf Africa to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Training and development

– Aaf Africa has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Renewing GE: The Africa Project (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.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Aaf Africa has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Aaf Africa 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry

– Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Aaf Africa to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Aaf Africa to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Analytics focus

– Aaf Africa 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 David A. Thomas, Stephanie J. Creary 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Aaf Africa 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

High brand equity

– Aaf Africa has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Aaf Africa to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Strong track record of project management

– Aaf Africa is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Aaf Africa in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.






Weaknesses Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) are -

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) HBR case study mentions - Aaf Africa 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Aaf Africa 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. Aaf Africa 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.

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 Aaf Africa supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Aaf Africa vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A), it seems that the employees of Aaf Africa 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Aaf Africa is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Aaf Africa needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Aaf Africa to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) 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 Aaf Africa 's lucrative customers.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Aaf Africa 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A), is just above the industry average. Aaf Africa 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Aaf Africa is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Renewing GE: The Africa Project (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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A), in the dynamic environment Aaf Africa has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Aaf Africa has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, David A. Thomas, Stephanie J. Creary suggests that, Aaf Africa 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) are -

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Aaf Africa 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 Aaf Africa to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Aaf Africa can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Aaf Africa can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Aaf Africa operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.

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. Aaf Africa can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Aaf Africa 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Aaf Africa is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Renewing GE: The Africa Project (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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Aaf Africa 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 Aaf Africa 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Aaf Africa can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Aaf Africa to increase its market reach. Aaf Africa 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Aaf Africa has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Aaf Africa to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) case study. Aaf Africa can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

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. Aaf Africa 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. Aaf Africa 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.

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 Aaf Africa in the consumer business. Now Aaf Africa can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.




Threats Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) are -

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Aaf Africa 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.

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. Aaf Africa 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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Aaf Africa 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Aaf Africa 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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A) .

Regulatory challenges

– Aaf Africa 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Aaf Africa with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Aaf Africa 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.

Increasing wage structure of Aaf Africa

– 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 Aaf Africa.

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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Aaf Africa is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Environmental challenges

– Aaf Africa 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. Aaf Africa can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.

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 Aaf Africa business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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 Aaf Africa in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Renewing GE: The Africa Project (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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (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 Renewing GE: The Africa Project (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 Aaf Africa needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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