Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa
Two Valmont Industries (an international leader in infrastructure products and services) colleagues, Robert (Bob) Meaney and Richard Berkland hoped to improve the lives of small and medium-sized farmers in the developing world through modern irrigation technology. In October 2015, they had already launched three pilot projects in Africa, each with a unique model of engaging local and global actors around center pivot irrigation technology. They were eager to understand the impact each model had on agricultural yields, water resource management, and farmer income, to create a model adaptable to different regions around the world.
Swot Analysis of "Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Renee Vuillaume includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Meaney Irrigation facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Technology and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Meaney Irrigation, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Meaney Irrigation 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 Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Meaney Irrigation
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 Meaney Irrigation
Strengths Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Meaney Irrigation in Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Meaney Irrigation 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 Meaney Irrigation is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Meaney Irrigation
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Meaney Irrigation does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Meaney Irrigation 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 Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa 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 Meaney Irrigation 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Meaney Irrigation to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Meaney Irrigation to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Meaney Irrigation is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Meaney Irrigation is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Meaney Irrigation is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa 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
– Meaney Irrigation has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Meaney Irrigation to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Meaney Irrigation 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Meaney Irrigation is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Meaney Irrigation 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 Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Meaney Irrigation 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.
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 Meaney Irrigation supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Meaney Irrigation vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Meaney Irrigation, firm in the HBR case study Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Meaney Irrigation 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 - Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Meaney Irrigation is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Meaney Irrigation is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Meaney Irrigation needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Meaney Irrigation to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Meaney Irrigation 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Meaney Irrigation 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Renee Vuillaume suggests that, Meaney Irrigation 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Meaney Irrigation 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, is just above the industry average. Meaney Irrigation 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.
Opportunities Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa | 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 Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Meaney Irrigation can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Leadership & Managing People segment.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Meaney Irrigation 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. Meaney Irrigation can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Meaney Irrigation is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Meaney Irrigation can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Meaney Irrigation operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Meaney Irrigation 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Meaney Irrigation can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Meaney Irrigation 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Meaney Irrigation 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 Meaney Irrigation to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Meaney Irrigation has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Meaney Irrigation to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa case study. Meaney Irrigation can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Meaney Irrigation can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Meaney Irrigation to increase its market reach. Meaney Irrigation 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Meaney Irrigation can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Meaney Irrigation 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.
Threats Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, Meaney Irrigation 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Meaney Irrigation with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Meaney Irrigation 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. Meaney Irrigation 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
– Meaney Irrigation has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Meaney Irrigation 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Meaney Irrigation 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 Meaney Irrigation business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Meaney Irrigation 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Meaney Irrigation 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.
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. Meaney Irrigation needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Meaney Irrigation 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.
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 Meaney Irrigation in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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. Meaney Irrigation 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 Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa 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 Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa 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 Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa 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 Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa 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 Robert Meaney and Technology for Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa 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 Meaney Irrigation needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.