SWOT

The strengths of Etisalat are numerous. They lead a company that provides telecom services to the developing parts of the world. This takes resolve, discretion and careful planning as well as a regimented organizational behavior standard. Operating in such widespread and different countries requires discipline and strong leadership in each of the member states that an organization operates in. By extension, the organizational behavior and leadership of Etisalat is strong since they are operating in such disparate and different areas yet they are thriving and doing well. A last strength of the leadership can be found on their website and that is the Corporate Social Responsibility Report that was issued in 2012. Examples of Etisalat's strong organizational behavior structure and leadership within this report would include its partnerships with groups like Pacific Controls and others so as to extend their operations and reach into different countries. Other countries that Etisalat has thrived in include Nigeria, Egypt and Afghanistan. They have a multi-pronged approach that is touted by the leadership as being emblematic of Etisalat's strong performance and character which includes employee relations, human rights, public policy participation and society/community involvement. This stands in contrast to many companies that engage in an organizational behavior pattern of shutting people out and not treating other people as equals even though precisely that happens quite a bit in the parts of the world in which Etisalat operations (Etisalat). To cater and serve such areas that are sometimes (but not always) quite chaotic and poor is quite an accomplishment. Indeed, the Telecom World Middle East Awards tabbed Etisalat as the "Best Operator" during its awards in 2014 ("Etisalat crowned," 2014).

A weakness of Etisalat is that while they are doing quite well in chaotic areas, the risks that they encounter are much higher and this would make it much less likely for investors, especially those outside of the Middle East and Africa, to invest a whole lot of faith and money into their efforts. As shown in the three appendices, many of the first, second and third tier of countries in conflict are in Etisalat's market or very close to it. This is a weakness to the leadership and its organizational behavior standard because even with the dialog and strong organizational behavior culture that Etisalat exhibits and touts, they still have a lot of exposure to problems in the countries that they current operate in. It is something that could their business but yet it is largely (but not entirely) out of the control of Etisalat's leadership. Another weakness is that at least part of Etisalat's business is dependent on what is provided to them by others including Sandvine. This positioning and strategy by the Etisalat leadership subjects Etisalat to risks that they could theoretically control but cannot as they have assigned that power to Sandvine