Swot Analysis of "Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B)" written by Terry H. Deutscher, Christopher Spalding includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pennzoil Quaker facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pennzoil Quaker, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pennzoil Quaker 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 Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pennzoil Quaker
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 Pennzoil Quaker
Strengths Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Pennzoil Quaker in Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Pennzoil Quaker has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Pennzoil Quaker to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Pennzoil Quaker 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 Pennzoil Quaker in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Pennzoil Quaker 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 Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (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.
Training and development
– Pennzoil Quaker has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) 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.
Organizational Resilience of Pennzoil Quaker
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Pennzoil Quaker does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Pennzoil Quaker 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 Terry H. Deutscher, Christopher Spalding 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.
Learning organization
- Pennzoil Quaker 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 Pennzoil Quaker is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Pennzoil Quaker to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Pennzoil Quaker to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Pennzoil Quaker is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Pennzoil Quaker is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (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.
Innovation driven organization
– Pennzoil Quaker is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) 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 Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Pennzoil Quaker is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Pennzoil Quaker 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. Pennzoil Quaker even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Pennzoil Quaker is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Pennzoil Quaker 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B), is just above the industry average. Pennzoil Quaker 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (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 Pennzoil Quaker has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (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 Pennzoil Quaker 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Pennzoil Quaker, firm in the HBR case study Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Pennzoil Quaker is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Pennzoil Quaker needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Pennzoil Quaker to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Pennzoil Quaker 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.
Opportunities Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (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 Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Pennzoil Quaker 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Pennzoil Quaker can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Pennzoil Quaker can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Pennzoil Quaker in the consumer business. Now Pennzoil Quaker can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Pennzoil Quaker 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 Sales & Marketing segment.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Pennzoil Quaker 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, Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Pennzoil Quaker can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Pennzoil Quaker 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Pennzoil Quaker can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Pennzoil Quaker 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, Pennzoil Quaker 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Pennzoil Quaker 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Pennzoil Quaker is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (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.
Threats Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B), Pennzoil Quaker 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 .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Pennzoil Quaker 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Pennzoil Quaker can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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. Pennzoil Quaker 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 Pennzoil Quaker with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Pennzoil Quaker 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 Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (B) .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Pennzoil Quaker is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Pennzoil Quaker 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Pennzoil Quaker in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing 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.
Increasing wage structure of Pennzoil Quaker
– 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 Pennzoil Quaker.
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 Pennzoil Quaker 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. Pennzoil Quaker needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (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 Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (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 Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (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 Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (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 Pennzoil-Quaker State Canada: The One-to-One Decision (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 Pennzoil Quaker needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
