Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results
This case, which can be used in conjunction with the other Monsanto cases, details Monsanto's efforts to introduce genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into Europe in the mid-1990s. Monsanto did not anticipate the European resistance and public outcry based on a number of factors, and company officials ultimately admitted their mistakes in the introduction process. Additionally, the case poses the basic question: How could Monsanto, in its role as a seed producer, have interacted with the international food-supply chain so that its primary consumers had a market outside the United States for their genetically modified crops?
Authors :: Pat Werhane, Michael Gorman, Jenny Mead, Michael Hertz
Topics :: Sales & Marketing
Tags :: Growth strategy, Health, Innovation, International business, Marketing, Public relations, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results" written by Pat Werhane, Michael Gorman, Jenny Mead, Michael Hertz includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Monsanto Gmos facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Health, Innovation, International business, Marketing, Public relations, Social responsibility and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Monsanto Gmos, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Monsanto Gmos 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 Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Monsanto Gmos
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Monsanto Gmos
Strengths Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Monsanto Gmos in Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Monsanto Gmos 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 Pat Werhane, Michael Gorman, Jenny Mead, Michael Hertz 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Monsanto Gmos 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Monsanto Gmos in the sector have low bargaining power. Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Monsanto Gmos to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Monsanto Gmos 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 Monsanto Gmos in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Monsanto Gmos is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Monsanto Gmos 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 Monsanto Gmos is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Monsanto Gmos 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 Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Monsanto Gmos in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Monsanto Gmos 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 Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Monsanto Gmos
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Monsanto Gmos does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Monsanto Gmos is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results 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.
Weaknesses Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results 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 Monsanto Gmos 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results, in the dynamic environment Monsanto Gmos has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Monsanto Gmos has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Monsanto Gmos 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results, it seems that the employees of Monsanto Gmos don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Pat Werhane, Michael Gorman, Jenny Mead, Michael Hertz suggests that, Monsanto Gmos 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Monsanto Gmos, firm in the HBR case study Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Monsanto Gmos supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Monsanto Gmos vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Monsanto Gmos is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Monsanto Gmos is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Monsanto Gmos 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Monsanto Gmos is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Monsanto Gmos needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Monsanto Gmos to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results | 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 Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Monsanto Gmos in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Monsanto Gmos 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Monsanto Gmos can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Monsanto Gmos in the consumer business. Now Monsanto Gmos can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Monsanto Gmos can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Developing new processes and practices
– Monsanto Gmos can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Monsanto Gmos 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Monsanto Gmos 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, Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Monsanto Gmos can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Monsanto Gmos to increase its market reach. Monsanto Gmos 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Monsanto Gmos 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 Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Monsanto Gmos to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– Monsanto Gmos 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Monsanto Gmos is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results 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.
Threats Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Monsanto Gmos is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Monsanto Gmos 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. Monsanto Gmos can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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 Monsanto Gmos.
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. Monsanto Gmos needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Monsanto Gmos with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results, Monsanto Gmos may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Monsanto Gmos 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.
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.
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 Monsanto Gmos business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Monsanto Gmos 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.
Increasing wage structure of Monsanto Gmos
– 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 Monsanto Gmos.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Monsanto Gmos 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 Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results 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 Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results 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 Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results 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 Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results 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 Monsanto Europe: Monsanto Introduces GMOs to Europe with Unexpected Results 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 Monsanto Gmos needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.