Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE
The Emirate of Abu Dhabi has witnessed rapid development in recent decades. As its physical, economic and demographic landscapes evolve, the time has come to reflect on the challenges and opportunities ahead. This case illustrates the establishment and achievements of the Office of the Brand of Abu Dhabi (OBAD). It describes the development challenges faced by the emirate as it enters the global economy while seeking to define and protect its national and cultural identity. The work of crafting an identity for a nation is interwoven with the advent of a new generation of leadership. The case focuses on OBAD's general manager and custodian of the Abu Dhabi brand, a young Emirati woman, Reem Al-Shemari, who exemplifies Generation Y leadership in the UAE.
Authors :: Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, Katty Marmenout, Elizabeth Florent-Treacy, Rola Tassabehji
Swot Analysis of "Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE" written by Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, Katty Marmenout, Elizabeth Florent-Treacy, Rola Tassabehji includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Dhabi Abu facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dhabi Abu, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dhabi Abu 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 Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dhabi Abu
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 Dhabi Abu
Strengths Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Dhabi Abu in Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Dhabi Abu has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Dhabi Abu 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Dhabi Abu is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Dhabi Abu to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Dhabi Abu to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Dhabi Abu 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 Dhabi Abu is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Dhabi Abu 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 Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Dhabi Abu is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Dhabi Abu 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Dhabi Abu in the sector have low bargaining power. Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Dhabi Abu to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Dhabi Abu has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Dhabi Abu to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Dhabi Abu are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Dhabi Abu is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Dhabi Abu 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 Dhabi Abu in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Dhabi Abu is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE HBR case study mentions - Dhabi Abu 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Dhabi Abu has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE 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 Dhabi Abu 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Dhabi Abu is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Dhabi Abu needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Dhabi Abu to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Dhabi Abu 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 - Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE, in the dynamic environment Dhabi Abu has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Dhabi Abu has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE 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 Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Dhabi Abu is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Dhabi Abu 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE, it seems that the employees of Dhabi Abu 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.
Opportunities Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE | 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 Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Dhabi Abu 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Dhabi Abu 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Dhabi Abu 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.
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. Dhabi Abu can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Dhabi Abu 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Dhabi Abu 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Dhabi Abu can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Dhabi Abu 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 Dhabi Abu to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Dhabi Abu can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Dhabi Abu is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE 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
– Dhabi Abu can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Dhabi Abu 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.
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. Dhabi Abu 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. Dhabi Abu 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.
Threats Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE are -
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. Dhabi Abu 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Dhabi Abu 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Dhabi Abu 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 Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE .
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 Dhabi Abu in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Dhabi Abu.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Dhabi Abu 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.
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. Dhabi Abu needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Dhabi Abu 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.
Environmental challenges
– Dhabi Abu 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. Dhabi Abu can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Dhabi Abu has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Dhabi Abu 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.
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 Dhabi Abu business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Dhabi Abu can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE 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 Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE 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 Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE 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 Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE 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 Reem Al-Shemari and the Abu Dhabi Brand: Generation Y Leadership in the UAE 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 Dhabi Abu needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.