Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986
Demonstrates how knowing the "money mechanics" of the business is essential in developing a successful strategy among industry participants. Deals with the structural attractiveness of the industry from the concentrate producer and bottler perspectives and examines the significance of the franchise system. Taught in the section entitled "Predicting Competitive Behavior" of the Competition and Strategy course and should be taught in conjunction with Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi-Cola (A), (B), and (C).
Swot Analysis of "Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986" written by Andrall E. Pearson, Constance L. Irwin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cola Taught facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Corporate governance, Marketing and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cola Taught, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cola Taught 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 Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cola Taught
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Cola Taught
Strengths Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cola Taught in Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Cola Taught 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 Cola Taught is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Cola Taught 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 Cola Taught in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Cola Taught has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cola Taught to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Cola Taught has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cola Taught digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cola Taught 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.
Organizational Resilience of Cola Taught
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cola Taught does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cola Taught has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cola Taught 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Cola Taught is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 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
– Cola Taught is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cola Taught 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cola Taught to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cola Taught to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 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 Cola Taught supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cola Taught vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Cola Taught 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Andrall E. Pearson, Constance L. Irwin suggests that, Cola Taught is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cola Taught products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cola Taught needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Cola Taught 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 - Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Cola Taught 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986, is just above the industry average. Cola Taught 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cola Taught 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 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 Cola Taught has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 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 Cola Taught 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 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 Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cola Taught is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 | 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 Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cola Taught 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 Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cola Taught to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cola Taught to increase its market reach. Cola Taught 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cola Taught 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, Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cola Taught 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cola Taught 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cola Taught 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 Cola Taught to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cola Taught has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cola Taught to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 case study. Cola Taught can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cola Taught can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cola Taught in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Cola Taught can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cola Taught can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cola Taught operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cola Taught can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Cola Taught 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.
Threats Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cola Taught is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cola Taught 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 Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cola Taught 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 Cola Taught.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Cola Taught 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986, Cola Taught may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Increasing wage structure of Cola Taught
– 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 Cola Taught.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Cola Taught 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. Cola Taught can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cola Taught 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 Cola Taught in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Cola Taught 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 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 Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 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 Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 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 Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 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 Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986 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 Cola Taught needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
