Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B)
Focuses on Pierre Urech's efforts to change the division structure at Ciba-Geigy to facilitate the marketing of the new product. Details the relationships Urech cultivates and the strategy he pursues as "product champion." Also describes the restructuring of the research department into small teams to improve product development. Other topics include the marketing of the new product in different regional settings, the emergence of a "dominant design," and a slow-down in subsequent innovation.
Authors :: Michael L. Tushman, Wendy K. Smith, Daniel B. Radov
Swot Analysis of "Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B)" written by Michael L. Tushman, Wendy K. Smith, Daniel B. Radov includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Geigy Ciba facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial markets, Leadership, Leadership development, Marketing, Product development, Reorganization and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Geigy Ciba, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Geigy Ciba 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 Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Geigy Ciba
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 Geigy Ciba
Strengths Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Geigy Ciba in Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Geigy Ciba 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 Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Geigy Ciba digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Geigy Ciba 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Geigy Ciba is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Geigy Ciba has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Geigy Ciba 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Geigy Ciba in the sector have low bargaining power. Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Geigy Ciba to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Geigy Ciba 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 Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Geigy Ciba is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Geigy Ciba
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Geigy Ciba does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Geigy Ciba to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Geigy Ciba to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Geigy Ciba 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 Geigy Ciba in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Geigy Ciba 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.
Weaknesses Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) 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 Geigy Ciba has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Geigy Ciba 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) 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 Geigy Ciba 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Geigy Ciba, firm in the HBR case study Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B), in the dynamic environment Geigy Ciba has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Geigy Ciba has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B), 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 Geigy Ciba supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Geigy Ciba vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Michael L. Tushman, Wendy K. Smith, Daniel B. Radov suggests that, Geigy Ciba 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Geigy Ciba products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Geigy Ciba needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Geigy Ciba 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 - Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B), is just above the industry average. Geigy Ciba needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Opportunities Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) | 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 Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) are -
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 Geigy Ciba 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Geigy Ciba 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Geigy Ciba can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Geigy Ciba can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Geigy Ciba operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Geigy Ciba 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Geigy Ciba 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Geigy Ciba 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Geigy Ciba is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Geigy Ciba 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.
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 Geigy Ciba in the consumer business. Now Geigy Ciba can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Geigy Ciba 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Geigy Ciba 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 Geigy Ciba to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Geigy Ciba can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Geigy Ciba demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B), Geigy Ciba 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, Geigy Ciba 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 Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) .
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. Geigy Ciba 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
– Geigy Ciba 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 Geigy Ciba 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.
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 Geigy Ciba in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Geigy Ciba needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Geigy Ciba
– 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 Geigy Ciba.
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.
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. Geigy Ciba 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Geigy Ciba with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Geigy Ciba business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) 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 Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) 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 Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) 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 Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) 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 Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B) 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 Geigy Ciba needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
