Swot Analysis of "Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile" written by E. Raymond Corey includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Missile Guidance facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Pricing, Research & development, Technology and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Missile Guidance, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Missile Guidance 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 Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Missile Guidance
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 Missile Guidance
Strengths Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Missile Guidance in Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Missile Guidance is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Strong track record of project management
– Missile Guidance is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Missile Guidance digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Missile Guidance 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Missile Guidance 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 Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Missile Guidance 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 Missile Guidance in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Missile Guidance has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Missile Guidance 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Missile Guidance is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile 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 Missile Guidance in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Missile Guidance 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 Missile Guidance is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Missile Guidance 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 Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Missile Guidance is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Missile Guidance has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Weaknesses Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Missile Guidance 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. Missile Guidance 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Missile Guidance, firm in the HBR case study Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile 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 Missile Guidance has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile 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 Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Missile Guidance is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Missile Guidance 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 - Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, E. Raymond Corey suggests that, Missile Guidance 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile, is just above the industry average. Missile Guidance 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile HBR case study mentions - Missile Guidance takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Missile Guidance 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Missile Guidance is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile, 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.
Opportunities Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile | 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 Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile 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 Missile Guidance in the consumer business. Now Missile Guidance can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Missile Guidance can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Missile Guidance has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Missile Guidance to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile case study. Missile Guidance can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Missile Guidance is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Missile Guidance can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Missile Guidance 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, Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Missile Guidance 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 Missile Guidance to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Missile Guidance 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 Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Missile Guidance to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Missile Guidance 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Missile Guidance 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Missile Guidance can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Missile Guidance can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Buying journey improvements
– Missile Guidance can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Missile Guidance 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.
Threats Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Missile Guidance 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.
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 Missile Guidance in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Missile Guidance with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile, Missile Guidance 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Missile Guidance is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Missile Guidance 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Missile Guidance 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 Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile .
Regulatory challenges
– Missile Guidance 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
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. Missile Guidance 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.
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.
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. Missile Guidance can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Missile Guidance needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Missile Guidance business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile 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 Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile 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 Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile 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 Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile 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 Mason Instrument, Inc.--1986 (C): Electronics Guidance System for the Cherokee Missile 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 Missile Guidance needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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