Deals with the concept of how to orchestrate a consistent CSR strategy consolidating many diverse social initiatives started within a business group. The CSU-CCA Group (CSU-CCA) is one of the leading retailing businesses in Central America. The Group includes the Corporacion de Supermercados Unidos (CSU), a supermarket chain, and the Corporacion de Companias Agroindustriales (CCA), in charge of fresh- and private-label product storage and distribution for CSU supermarkets. The CSU-CCA Group was involved in several social programs for both its personnel and other members of the communities in which it operated. Some of these programs were institutionalized, while others were not. In some cases, the Group's involvement had stemmed from a personal initiative driven by one of its employees or managers, although the programs were not aligned to company strategies. By mid-2002, the Group made a corporate decision to articulate its social engagements within its business strategy as a means of becoming more effectively involved in the communities in which it operated. Accordingly, in May 2002, the Corporate Affairs Department (CAD) was created to oversee corporate social responsibility issues and external communications with stakeholders. The CAD reported to the CSU-CCA Board Chairman. Discusses the role of Manuel Zuniga, Corporate Affairs Department Director and Social Responsibility Committee member, who, at the next meeting, will need to propose an overall CSR strategy for the Group, including a recommendation as to which social ventures to support and which not to. He would also need to answer other questions: How should the company draw away from the programs it would no longer support while preventing the alienation of those in charge of them? How should CSU-CCA develop future programs? How should it go about raising personnel awareness of, and commitment to, social programs?
Swot Analysis of "CSU-CCA Group" written by Francisco Leguizamon, Andrea Prado includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Csu Cca facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in CSU-CCA Group case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Policy, Social enterprise and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the CSU-CCA Group casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in CSU-CCA Group case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Csu Cca, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Csu Cca 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 CSU-CCA Group can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in CSU-CCA Group case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Csu Cca
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 Csu Cca
Strengths CSU-CCA Group | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Csu Cca in CSU-CCA Group Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the CSU-CCA Group 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Csu Cca in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Csu Cca has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in CSU-CCA Group 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Csu Cca 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 CSU-CCA Group - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Csu Cca 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 Csu Cca is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in CSU-CCA Group Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– CSU-CCA Group firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Csu Cca to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Csu Cca to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Csu Cca has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Csu Cca has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Csu Cca digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Csu Cca 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.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Csu Cca 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 Csu Cca in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Csu Cca has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Csu Cca to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Csu Cca 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Csu Cca in the sector have low bargaining power. CSU-CCA Group has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Csu Cca to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses CSU-CCA Group | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of CSU-CCA Group are -
Need for greater diversity
– Csu Cca has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Csu Cca, firm in the HBR case study CSU-CCA Group needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Csu Cca supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - CSU-CCA Group, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Csu Cca vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study CSU-CCA Group 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 Csu Cca 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Csu Cca 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 Csu Cca is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Csu Cca needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Csu Cca to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Csu Cca 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 - CSU-CCA Group should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the CSU-CCA Group 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 Csu Cca has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As CSU-CCA Group HBR case study mentions - Csu Cca 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study CSU-CCA Group, 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study CSU-CCA Group, in the dynamic environment Csu Cca has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Csu Cca has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities CSU-CCA Group | 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 CSU-CCA Group are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Csu Cca can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Csu Cca operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Csu Cca 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Csu Cca has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Csu Cca to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the CSU-CCA Group case study. Csu Cca can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Csu Cca can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Csu Cca 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. Csu Cca 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Csu Cca can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. CSU-CCA Group 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Csu Cca 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Csu Cca 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.
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 Csu Cca 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.
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. Csu Cca can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Csu Cca 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Csu Cca to increase its market reach. Csu Cca 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Csu Cca 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 CSU-CCA Group External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study CSU-CCA Group are -
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. Csu Cca 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.
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 Csu Cca business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Csu Cca with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Csu Cca has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Csu Cca 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.
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. Csu Cca can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Csu Cca 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Csu Cca 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. Csu Cca needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Csu Cca.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Csu Cca 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 CSU-CCA Group .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study CSU-CCA Group, Csu Cca 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Csu Cca is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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 Csu Cca in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of CSU-CCA Group 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 CSU-CCA Group 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 CSU-CCA Group 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 CSU-CCA Group 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 CSU-CCA Group 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 Csu Cca needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
