Case Study Description of Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values?
In October 2014, the owner of Rajwant Engineering Pvt. Ltd., a small-scale manufacturing business in Jamshedpur, India, needed to make some key strategic decisions. The immediate challenge was that the company had recently been asked for a bribe by the procurement manager of its most important client. The business owner was a highly ethical entrepreneur, so he was tempted to discontinue his relationship with the client on ethical grounds. However, the business was facing major financial difficulties, and the owner felt great responsibility toward his employees. The business owner wondered if he should instead compromise on his values in order to save his business from bankruptcy. Atul Arun Pathak is affiliated with XLRI-Xavier School of Management. Kshamta Sharma is affiliated with XLRI-Xavier School of Management.
Swot Analysis of "Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values?" written by Atul Arun Pathak, Kshamta Sharma includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Rajwant Owner facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics, Manufacturing and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Rajwant Owner, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Rajwant Owner 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 Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Rajwant Owner
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 Rajwant Owner
Strengths Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Rajwant Owner in Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Rajwant Owner to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Rajwant Owner to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Rajwant Owner digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Rajwant Owner 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.
Learning organization
- Rajwant Owner 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 Rajwant Owner is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Rajwant Owner 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 Atul Arun Pathak, Kshamta Sharma 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Rajwant Owner 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.
Training and development
– Rajwant Owner has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? 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)
– Rajwant Owner 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 Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Rajwant Owner has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Rajwant Owner 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Rajwant Owner is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Rajwant Owner is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Rajwant Owner 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 Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Atul Arun Pathak, Kshamta Sharma suggests that, Rajwant Owner 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? 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 Rajwant Owner has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Rajwant Owner 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Rajwant Owner 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Rajwant Owner 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 - Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values?, 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.
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 Rajwant Owner supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Rajwant Owner vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Rajwant Owner 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. Rajwant Owner 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Rajwant Owner is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Rajwant Owner 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Rajwant Owner 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.
Opportunities Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? | 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 Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? are -
Manufacturing automation
– Rajwant Owner 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Rajwant Owner 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, Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Rajwant Owner can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Rajwant Owner operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Rajwant Owner 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Rajwant Owner to increase its market reach. Rajwant Owner 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Rajwant Owner has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Rajwant Owner to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? case study. Rajwant Owner 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. Rajwant Owner 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. Rajwant Owner 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Rajwant Owner 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Rajwant Owner 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Rajwant Owner 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Rajwant Owner 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 Rajwant Owner in the consumer business. Now Rajwant Owner 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. Rajwant Owner can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Rajwant Owner has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Rajwant Owner 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Rajwant Owner 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Rajwant Owner high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Rajwant Owner business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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 Rajwant Owner in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Rajwant Owner 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. Rajwant Owner can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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. Rajwant Owner 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.
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
– Rajwant Owner 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 Rajwant Owner 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 Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values?, Rajwant Owner 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Rajwant Owner 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 Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? 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 Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? 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 Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? 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 Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? 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 Rajwant Engineering: Survival or Ethical Values? 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 Rajwant Owner needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.