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Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad


When students have the English-language PDF of this Brief Case in a coursepack, they will also have the option to purchase an audio version.In May 2007, the Engstrom Auto Mirrors plant, a relatively small supplier based in Indiana, faces a crisis. The business was in the second year of a downturn. Sales had started to decline in 2005; a year later, plant manager Ron Bent had been forced to lay off more than 20 percent of the work force. Plant productivity was dropping, employee morale was low, and product-quality issues had begun to surface. Relationships with key customers were at risk. Downturns were not new at Engstrom. When the plant had reached a similar crisis point years earlier, the institution of a Scanlon Plan, a company-wide employee incentive program, had proven critical in building morale, increasing productivity and product quality, and leading Engstrom into a turnaround. For several subsequent years, Engstrom workers had received regular Scanlon pay bonuses. But the bonuses had stopped in 2006, and now Ron Bent must determine how to get the plant back on track. Should he revise the Scanlon setup? Remove Scanlon and try another plan? Identify and change other organizational factors that may be sabotaging Scanlon?

Authors :: Michael Beer, Elizabeth Collins

Topics :: Organizational Development

Tags :: Human resource management, Labor, Leadership, Manufacturing, Motivating people, Organizational culture, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad" written by Michael Beer, Elizabeth Collins includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Engstrom Scanlon facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Human resource management, Labor, Leadership, Manufacturing, Motivating people, Organizational culture and Organizational Development.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Engstrom Scanlon, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Engstrom Scanlon 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 Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Engstrom Scanlon
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 Engstrom Scanlon




Strengths Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Engstrom Scanlon in Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad Harvard Business Review case study are -

Diverse revenue streams

– Engstrom Scanlon is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Engstrom Scanlon is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Learning organization

- Engstrom Scanlon 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 Engstrom Scanlon is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

High brand equity

– Engstrom Scanlon has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Engstrom Scanlon to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Engstrom Scanlon has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Engstrom Scanlon 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.

Analytics focus

– Engstrom Scanlon 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 Michael Beer, Elizabeth Collins 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Engstrom Scanlon is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Engstrom Scanlon in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Engstrom Scanlon 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Engstrom Scanlon 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 Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Engstrom Scanlon 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry

– Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Engstrom Scanlon to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Engstrom Scanlon to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.






Weaknesses Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad are -

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Engstrom Scanlon 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Engstrom Scanlon products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Engstrom Scanlon needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Engstrom Scanlon is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Engstrom Scanlon 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. Engstrom Scanlon 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Engstrom Scanlon 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 - Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Engstrom Scanlon has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Engstrom Scanlon, firm in the HBR case study Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad 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 Engstrom Scanlon 's lucrative customers.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad, 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Engstrom Scanlon 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Engstrom Scanlon 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.




Opportunities Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad | 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 Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad 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. Engstrom Scanlon can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Engstrom Scanlon can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Engstrom Scanlon operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Engstrom Scanlon is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad 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.

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. Engstrom Scanlon can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Engstrom Scanlon to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Engstrom Scanlon to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Engstrom Scanlon to increase its market reach. Engstrom Scanlon 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Engstrom Scanlon 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.

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 Engstrom Scanlon 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Engstrom Scanlon has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Engstrom Scanlon to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad case study. Engstrom Scanlon can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Buying journey improvements

– Engstrom Scanlon can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Engstrom Scanlon 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.

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. Engstrom Scanlon 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. Engstrom Scanlon 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Engstrom Scanlon 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, Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.




Threats Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad are -

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 Engstrom Scanlon.

Increasing wage structure of Engstrom Scanlon

– 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 Engstrom Scanlon.

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 Engstrom Scanlon in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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. Engstrom Scanlon can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Engstrom Scanlon 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 Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad .

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 Engstrom Scanlon business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Engstrom Scanlon 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Engstrom Scanlon 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.

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.

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. Engstrom Scanlon needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Engstrom Scanlon is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Engstrom Scanlon 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad 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 Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad 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 Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad 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 Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad 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 Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad 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 Engstrom Scanlon needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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