The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert
This is a multi-issue one-on-one internal negotiation between a recently promoted boss, Joanna, and an older-than-her employee, Rupert, who is disgruntled at having been passed over for promotion. Joanna needs his advice to design the new strategy for the Indonesia operations, which she must present to the board soon.
Swot Analysis of "The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert" written by Horacio Falcao, Kriti Jain, Heather Grover includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Joanna Rupert facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Conflict, Influence, Leadership and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Joanna Rupert, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Joanna Rupert 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 The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Joanna Rupert
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 Joanna Rupert
Strengths The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Joanna Rupert in The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Joanna Rupert in the sector have low bargaining power. The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Joanna Rupert to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert 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.
Analytics focus
– Joanna Rupert 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 Horacio Falcao, Kriti Jain, Heather Grover 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Joanna Rupert is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert 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
– Joanna Rupert has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Joanna Rupert to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Joanna Rupert digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Joanna Rupert 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.
Training and development
– Joanna Rupert has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Joanna Rupert 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.
Organizational Resilience of Joanna Rupert
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Joanna Rupert does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Joanna Rupert in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Joanna Rupert is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Joanna Rupert 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.
Weaknesses The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert HBR case study mentions - Joanna Rupert 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Joanna Rupert 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Joanna Rupert is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert 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
– Joanna Rupert 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Horacio Falcao, Kriti Jain, Heather Grover suggests that, Joanna Rupert 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Joanna Rupert, firm in the HBR case study The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert, it seems that the employees of Joanna Rupert don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High 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 Joanna Rupert supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Joanna Rupert vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Joanna Rupert 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, Joanna Rupert 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert, in the dynamic environment Joanna Rupert has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Joanna Rupert has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert | 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 The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Joanna Rupert 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Joanna Rupert 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.
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. Joanna Rupert can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Joanna Rupert 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 The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Joanna Rupert to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Joanna Rupert 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Joanna Rupert to increase its market reach. Joanna Rupert 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Joanna Rupert 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.
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. Joanna Rupert 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. Joanna Rupert 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.
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. Joanna Rupert can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Joanna Rupert 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 Joanna Rupert to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Joanna Rupert can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Buying journey improvements
– Joanna Rupert can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Joanna Rupert in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Joanna Rupert high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Joanna Rupert business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Joanna Rupert
– 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 Joanna Rupert.
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. Joanna Rupert can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Joanna Rupert 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Joanna Rupert 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
– Joanna Rupert 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. Joanna Rupert can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Joanna Rupert 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Joanna Rupert 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert, Joanna Rupert 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 .
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. Joanna Rupert 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.
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 Joanna Rupert in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Joanna Rupert 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 The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert 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 The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert 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 The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert 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 The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert 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 The Indonesia Strategy Case: Confidential Instructions for Rupert 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 Joanna Rupert needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.