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 - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, 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 -
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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) 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.
Training and development
– Crushing Hydraulics has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) 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
– 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.
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.
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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Crushing Hydraulics 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.
Analytics focus
– Crushing Hydraulics 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 Louis B. Barnes, Colleen Kaftan 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.
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.
Strong track record of project management
– Crushing Hydraulics is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Crushing Hydraulics is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Louis B. Barnes, Colleen Kaftan suggests that, Crushing Hydraulics is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Crushing Hydraulics has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
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 Crushing Hydraulics supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Crushing Hydraulics vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Crushing Hydraulics is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 -
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.
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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Crushing Hydraulics can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Crushing Hydraulics operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
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.
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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Crushing Hydraulics can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Crushing Hydraulics 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Crushing Hydraulics 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 Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Crushing Hydraulics to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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. Crushing Hydraulics 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Crushing Hydraulics can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Crushing Hydraulics with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Crushing Hydraulics in the Organizational Development 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.