Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C)
This is a supplement to Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (A) and (B), products 9B09M080 and 9B09M081 and, taken together, this case series illustrates why industrial farming has supplanted the farm-based agricultural system.
Swot Analysis of "Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C)" written by Pratima Bansal, Pam Laughland, Brent McKnight includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ranching Ranch facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social responsibility, Strategy, Sustainability and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ranching Ranch, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ranching Ranch 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 Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ranching Ranch
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 Ranching Ranch
Strengths Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ranching Ranch in Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Ranching Ranch is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ranching Ranch has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ranching Ranch 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ranching Ranch digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ranching Ranch 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
– Ranching Ranch has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) 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.
Learning organization
- Ranching Ranch 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 Ranching Ranch is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ranching Ranch is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ranching Ranch in the sector have low bargaining power. Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ranching Ranch to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ranching Ranch 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 Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ranching Ranch 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 Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Ranching Ranch
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ranching Ranch does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Ranching Ranch is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ranching Ranch 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) HBR case study mentions - Ranching Ranch 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Ranching Ranch 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) 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 Ranching Ranch 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ranching Ranch is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Ranching Ranch needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ranching Ranch to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C), it seems that the employees of Ranching Ranch 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C), in the dynamic environment Ranching Ranch has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ranching Ranch has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ranching Ranch 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ranching Ranch 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. Ranching Ranch 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ranching Ranch products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ranching Ranch needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C), 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.
Opportunities Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) | 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 Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) are -
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. Ranching Ranch can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ranching Ranch can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Ranching Ranch can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ranching Ranch 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.
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 Ranching Ranch in the consumer business. Now Ranching Ranch can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ranching Ranch to increase its market reach. Ranching Ranch 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ranching Ranch is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) 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, Ranching Ranch can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ranching Ranch operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ranching Ranch has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ranching Ranch to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) case study. Ranching Ranch can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Ranching Ranch to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ranching Ranch 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Ranching Ranch can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Ranching Ranch 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.
Threats Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) are -
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. Ranching Ranch needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Ranching Ranch.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ranching Ranch 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C), Ranching Ranch 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 .
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.
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. Ranching Ranch can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Ranching Ranch 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 Ranching Ranch with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ranching Ranch is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Ranching Ranch
– 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 Ranching Ranch.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ranching Ranch 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Ranching Ranch 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ranching Ranch has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ranching Ranch 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) 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 Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) 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 Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) 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 Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) 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 Y U Ranch: Strategy and Sustainability in Cattle Ranching (C) 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 Ranching Ranch needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.