The Great American Pigout SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Great American Pigout
This case describes and presents the hog industry crisis of 1998, when farmers suffered from the lowest prices in 30 years, as a perplexing systems problem. Students are asked to hypothesize what went wrong. Tools useful in the analysis include casual loop mapping and systems modeling. Policy alternatives are presented for the students' analysis and recommendation.
Swot Analysis of "The Great American Pigout" written by Robert D. Landel includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hypothesize Pigout facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Great American Pigout case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Great American Pigout casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Great American Pigout
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Great American Pigout case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hypothesize Pigout, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hypothesize Pigout 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 The Great American Pigout can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Great American Pigout case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hypothesize Pigout
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 Hypothesize Pigout
Strengths The Great American Pigout | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hypothesize Pigout in The Great American Pigout Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Hypothesize Pigout 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 Hypothesize Pigout in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Hypothesize Pigout is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Great American Pigout 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Hypothesize Pigout in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Hypothesize Pigout has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hypothesize Pigout to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Hypothesize Pigout has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Great American Pigout 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hypothesize Pigout has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hypothesize Pigout 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hypothesize Pigout 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Great American Pigout 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.
Analytics focus
– Hypothesize Pigout 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 Robert D. Landel 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Hypothesize Pigout in the sector have low bargaining power. The Great American Pigout has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Hypothesize Pigout to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hypothesize Pigout is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Great American Pigout are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Hypothesize Pigout is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Great American Pigout Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses The Great American Pigout | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Great American Pigout are -
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 Hypothesize Pigout supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Great American Pigout, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hypothesize Pigout vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Great American Pigout, in the dynamic environment Hypothesize Pigout has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hypothesize Pigout has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Hypothesize Pigout 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hypothesize Pigout is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Hypothesize Pigout needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hypothesize Pigout to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Great American Pigout 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 Hypothesize Pigout 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Hypothesize Pigout 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hypothesize Pigout is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Great American Pigout can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Hypothesize Pigout 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 - The Great American Pigout 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 The Great American Pigout, 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the The Great American Pigout 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 Hypothesize Pigout has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Great American Pigout, is just above the industry average. Hypothesize Pigout 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 The Great American Pigout | 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 The Great American Pigout are -
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 Hypothesize Pigout in the consumer business. Now Hypothesize Pigout can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hypothesize Pigout can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hypothesize Pigout 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 Hypothesize Pigout 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 Hypothesize Pigout 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, Hypothesize Pigout 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hypothesize Pigout is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Great American Pigout case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Hypothesize Pigout has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study The Great American Pigout - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hypothesize Pigout to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Hypothesize Pigout can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Hypothesize Pigout 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.
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. Hypothesize Pigout can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Hypothesize Pigout 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Hypothesize Pigout 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 Hypothesize Pigout to increase its market reach. Hypothesize Pigout 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.
Threats The Great American Pigout External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Great American Pigout are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hypothesize Pigout 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hypothesize Pigout 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.
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 Hypothesize Pigout.
Environmental challenges
– Hypothesize Pigout 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. Hypothesize Pigout can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hypothesize Pigout with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Hypothesize Pigout
– 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 Hypothesize Pigout.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hypothesize Pigout 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.
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
– Hypothesize Pigout 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.
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 Hypothesize Pigout in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Hypothesize Pigout business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Hypothesize Pigout 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 Hypothesize Pigout is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Great American Pigout 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 The Great American Pigout 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 The Great American Pigout 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 The Great American Pigout 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 The Great American Pigout 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 Hypothesize Pigout needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
