Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens
The introduction of a new class of persistent herbicides is anticipated by DuPont as a game-changer for the firm and its customers. Instead, the product creates unforeseen damage to vegetation. The mobilization of the customer base soon extends to the general public and regulators, leading to withdrawal of the product and ultimately the sale of the DuPont business unit concerned.
Authors :: Luk Van Wassenhove, Mark Hunter, Maria Besiou
Swot Analysis of "Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens" written by Luk Van Wassenhove, Mark Hunter, Maria Besiou includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Dupont Widens facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Sustainability and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dupont Widens, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dupont Widens 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 Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dupont Widens
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 Dupont Widens
Strengths Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Dupont Widens in Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Dupont Widens
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Dupont Widens does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Dupont Widens is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Dupont Widens 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Dupont Widens 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Dupont Widens to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Dupont Widens to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Dupont Widens 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 Luk Van Wassenhove, Mark Hunter, Maria Besiou 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
- Dupont Widens 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 Dupont Widens is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Dupont Widens is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Dupont Widens has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Dupont Widens 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)
– Dupont Widens 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 Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Dupont Widens digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Dupont Widens 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.
Weaknesses Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Dupont Widens 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 - Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Dupont Widens supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Dupont Widens vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens 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 Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Dupont Widens is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens 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 Dupont Widens has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Dupont Widens 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens 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 Dupont Widens 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Dupont Widens has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens HBR case study mentions - Dupont Widens 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens, in the dynamic environment Dupont Widens has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Dupont Widens has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Dupont Widens is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Dupont Widens needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Dupont Widens to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens | 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 Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Dupont Widens 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 Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Dupont Widens to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Dupont Widens 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Dupont Widens has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Dupont Widens to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens case study. Dupont Widens can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Dupont Widens can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Dupont Widens can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Dupont Widens 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Dupont Widens is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens 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 Dupont Widens can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Dupont Widens in the consumer business. Now Dupont Widens can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Dupont Widens 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. Dupont Widens 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Dupont Widens 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Dupont Widens 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Dupont Widens 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.
Threats Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens are -
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Dupont Widens can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Dupont Widens 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. Dupont Widens can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Dupont Widens 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.
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 Dupont Widens in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Dupont Widens business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Dupont Widens.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Dupont Widens with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Dupont Widens 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Dupont Widens is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Dupont Widens 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 Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens, Dupont Widens 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens 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 Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens 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 Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens 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 Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens 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 Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens 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 Dupont Widens needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.