Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged)
Involves the design and creation of a company with no formally-defined hierarchy. Describes the steps the founder takes to avoid the organizational politics he perceives as crushing the human contributions they were designed to harness. Fifteen years later, the company has achieved widespread recognition in the industry for its innovative designs, its quality products, and its highly ethical standards for business dealings. Describes the organization, the plant, and current concerns.
Swot Analysis of "Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged)" written by Louis B. Barnes, Colleen Kaftan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Crushing Hydraulics facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Manufacturing, Motivating people, Organizational culture and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Crushing Hydraulics, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Crushing Hydraulics 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 Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Crushing Hydraulics
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 Crushing Hydraulics
Strengths Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Crushing Hydraulics in Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Crushing Hydraulics in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Crushing Hydraulics digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Crushing Hydraulics 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.
High brand equity
– Crushing Hydraulics has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Crushing Hydraulics to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Crushing Hydraulics is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) 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.
Learning organization
- Crushing Hydraulics 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 Crushing Hydraulics is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Crushing Hydraulics to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Crushing Hydraulics to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Crushing Hydraulics is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Crushing Hydraulics in the sector have low bargaining power. Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Crushing Hydraulics to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Crushing Hydraulics is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Crushing Hydraulics has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Crushing Hydraulics 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Crushing Hydraulics 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.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Crushing Hydraulics 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 Crushing Hydraulics in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) 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 Crushing Hydraulics 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Crushing Hydraulics 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged), in the dynamic environment Crushing Hydraulics has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Crushing Hydraulics has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Crushing Hydraulics 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Crushing Hydraulics is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Crushing Hydraulics needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Crushing Hydraulics to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Crushing Hydraulics 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 - Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Crushing Hydraulics 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. Crushing Hydraulics 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Crushing Hydraulics, firm in the HBR case study Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged), it seems that the employees of Crushing Hydraulics 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) 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 Crushing Hydraulics has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) | 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 Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) are -
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. Crushing Hydraulics can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Crushing Hydraulics can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) 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
– Crushing Hydraulics 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.
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. Crushing Hydraulics can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Crushing Hydraulics 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. Crushing Hydraulics 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Crushing Hydraulics can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development 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.
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 Crushing Hydraulics 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.
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 Crushing Hydraulics in the consumer business. Now Crushing Hydraulics can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Crushing Hydraulics can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Crushing Hydraulics 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 Organizational Development segment.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Crushing Hydraulics has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Crushing Hydraulics to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) case study. Crushing Hydraulics can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Crushing Hydraulics to increase its market reach. Crushing Hydraulics 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, Crushing Hydraulics is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) 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.
Threats Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Crushing Hydraulics 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.
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. Crushing Hydraulics needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Crushing Hydraulics 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 Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Crushing Hydraulics 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Crushing Hydraulics in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged), Crushing Hydraulics 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Crushing Hydraulics 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.
Environmental challenges
– Crushing Hydraulics 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. Crushing Hydraulics can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Increasing wage structure of Crushing Hydraulics
– 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 Crushing Hydraulics.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Crushing Hydraulics is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Crushing Hydraulics 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 Organizational Development industry regulations.
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.
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 Crushing Hydraulics business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) 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 Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) 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 Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) 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 Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) 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 Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) 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 Crushing Hydraulics needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
