Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business
Matt Decker, the former president of Malkinson Printing Company, a family-owned private printing company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, needed to decide whether to return to the company after quitting more than two years earlier. Matt had been one of the three family members in the fourth generation of Malkinson Printing ownership, along with Brad Malkinson and Ron Malkinson. Matt's exit from Malkinson Printing came during a period when the business had begun to struggle for the first time in its history. The company had always been a successful one, growing with each of its previous generations of ownership, but the printing industry had changed dramatically by the beginning of the twenty-first century. The advent of computer graphics and desktop publishing placed companies like Malkinson at a competitive disadvantage and its owners faced the challenge of sustaining its market. The dynamics of the technological changes that were taking place dovetailed with a fracturing of the family dynamics at Malkinson Printing. Whereas their predecessors had generally agreed on company strategy, the three members of the fourth generation of Malkinson ownership did not get along. Matt had walked out when Brad secretly sold his stake in the business, which left Ron with a 75 percent share of the ownership. Matt was working as a salesman for another printing firm in October 2003 when Ron asked if he would come back. Matt had been critical to the success of Malkinson Printing Company, and Ron said he needed him to help save the business. This case is suitable for courses in family business management or for courses in small business management where family business issues are addressed. It can be especially useful as an introductory case or a second case on family business.
Swot Analysis of "Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business" written by Stuart Rosenberg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Malkinson Printing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Generational issues and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Malkinson Printing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Malkinson Printing 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 Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Malkinson Printing
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Malkinson Printing
Strengths Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Malkinson Printing in Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Malkinson Printing 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 Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business 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.
High brand equity
– Malkinson Printing has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Malkinson Printing to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Malkinson Printing 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 Malkinson Printing is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Malkinson Printing is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Malkinson Printing
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Malkinson Printing does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Malkinson Printing has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Malkinson Printing 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Malkinson Printing in the sector have low bargaining power. Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Malkinson Printing to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Malkinson Printing has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business 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.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Malkinson Printing 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 Malkinson Printing in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Malkinson Printing is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Stuart Rosenberg can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Malkinson Printing digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Malkinson Printing 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.
Weaknesses Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Malkinson Printing has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business 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 Malkinson Printing 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Malkinson Printing 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 - Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Malkinson Printing 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Malkinson Printing has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business, in the dynamic environment Malkinson Printing has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Malkinson Printing has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Malkinson Printing is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Malkinson Printing 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 Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business, is just above the industry average. Malkinson Printing 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Malkinson Printing 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Malkinson Printing products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Malkinson Printing needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business | 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 Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Malkinson Printing 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.
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 Malkinson Printing in the consumer business. Now Malkinson Printing 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. Malkinson Printing can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Malkinson Printing to increase its market reach. Malkinson Printing 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Malkinson Printing in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Malkinson Printing can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Malkinson Printing has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Malkinson Printing to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– Malkinson Printing 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 Malkinson Printing 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
– Malkinson Printing can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Malkinson Printing can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Malkinson Printing operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Malkinson Printing 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, Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Malkinson Printing 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.
Threats Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business are -
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Malkinson Printing 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Malkinson Printing is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Malkinson Printing 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.
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 Malkinson Printing business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Malkinson Printing 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.
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 Malkinson Printing in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Malkinson Printing 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 Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business .
Environmental challenges
– Malkinson Printing 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. Malkinson Printing can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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. Malkinson Printing needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Malkinson Printing
– 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 Malkinson Printing.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business, Malkinson Printing may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Malkinson Printing has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Malkinson Printing needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development 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 Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business 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 Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business 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 Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business 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 Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business 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 Malkinson Printing Company: The Evolution of a Family Business 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 Malkinson Printing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
