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Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor


The case explores value-driven strategy formulation and implementation by bringing to the fore issues of ethics, responsible leadership, social intitiatives in emerging markets and the global-local tensions in corporate social responsibility. It examines how Bayer CropScience addressed the issue of child labour in its cotton seed supply chain in rural India between 2002 and 2008. Bayer had been operating in India for more than a century. In December 2002, the Bayer Group completed the acquisition of India-based Aventis CropScience. Bayer CropScience first learned about the incidence and prevalence of the child labour in its newly acquired India-based cotton seed operations a few months post acquisition, in April 2003. The Aventis acquisition had brought onboard a well-known Indian company, Proagro, which already had operations in the cotton seed production and marketing - a new segment of the supply chain for Bayer. Child labour was widespread in cotton seed production - a traditional practice taken for granted not only by Indian farmers but also by several hundred Indian companies then accounting for approximately 90 per cent of the market share. The (A) case focuses on Bayer's decision whether, when and how to launch a self-run program that would take direct responsibility for tracking and eradicating child labour in rural India.

Authors :: Satyajeet Subramanian, Charles Dhanaraj, Oana Branzei

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Cross-cultural management, Emerging markets, Leadership, Social responsibility, Strategy, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor" written by Satyajeet Subramanian, Charles Dhanaraj, Oana Branzei includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bayer Cropscience facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Cross-cultural management, Emerging markets, Leadership, Social responsibility, Strategy and Leadership & Managing People.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bayer Cropscience, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bayer Cropscience 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 Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bayer Cropscience
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 Bayer Cropscience




Strengths Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Bayer Cropscience in Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor Harvard Business Review case study are -

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Bayer Cropscience in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bayer Cropscience digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bayer Cropscience 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.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Bayer Cropscience 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 Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Training and development

– Bayer Cropscience has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor 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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Bayer Cropscience in the sector have low bargaining power. Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bayer Cropscience to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Diverse revenue streams

– Bayer Cropscience is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor 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.

High brand equity

– Bayer Cropscience has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bayer Cropscience to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Bayer Cropscience 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 Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Strong track record of project management

– Bayer Cropscience 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

– Bayer Cropscience has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bayer Cropscience 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Bayer Cropscience is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Bayer Cropscience 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.



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Net Promoter Score



Weaknesses Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor are -

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 Bayer Cropscience supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bayer Cropscience vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Bayer Cropscience 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor, is just above the industry average. Bayer Cropscience 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Bayer Cropscience 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Bayer Cropscience 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 - Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor, 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Bayer Cropscience products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Bayer Cropscience needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor, it seems that the employees of Bayer Cropscience 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor HBR case study mentions - Bayer Cropscience 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Bayer Cropscience is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Bayer Cropscience needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bayer Cropscience to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bayer Cropscience 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.




Opportunities Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor | 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 Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor are -

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bayer Cropscience can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bayer Cropscience 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, Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Manufacturing automation

– Bayer Cropscience 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.

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. Bayer Cropscience 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. Bayer Cropscience 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bayer Cropscience to increase its market reach. Bayer Cropscience 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Bayer Cropscience 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bayer Cropscience 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Bayer Cropscience 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bayer Cropscience is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor 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.

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 Bayer Cropscience in the consumer business. Now Bayer Cropscience can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

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. Bayer Cropscience can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Bayer Cropscience 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bayer Cropscience 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 Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor are -

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bayer Cropscience with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

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. Bayer Cropscience can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bayer Cropscience 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 Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor .

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. Bayer Cropscience 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Bayer Cropscience is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Bayer Cropscience has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bayer Cropscience 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

– Bayer Cropscience 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 Bayer Cropscience business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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 Bayer Cropscience 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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bayer Cropscience 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Bayer Cropscience 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.

Increasing wage structure of Bayer Cropscience

– 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 Bayer Cropscience.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor 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 Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor 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 Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor 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 Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor 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 Bayer CropScience in India (A): Against Child Labor 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 Bayer Cropscience needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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