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Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success


Provides a follow-up to the (A) case.

Authors :: Karen H. Wruck, Sherry Pelkey Roper

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Costs, Organizational structure, Reorganization, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success" written by Karen H. Wruck, Sherry Pelkey Roper includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cytec Spin facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Costs, Organizational structure, Reorganization and Strategy & Execution.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success casestudy better are - – technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cytec Spin, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cytec Spin 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 Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cytec Spin
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 Cytec Spin




Strengths Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Cytec Spin in Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success Harvard Business Review case study are -

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Cytec Spin in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Cytec Spin is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Cytec Spin is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Organizational Resilience of Cytec Spin

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cytec Spin does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cytec Spin digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cytec Spin 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.

Learning organization

- Cytec Spin 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 Cytec Spin is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Innovation driven organization

– Cytec Spin is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Cytec Spin 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 Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry

– Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cytec Spin to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cytec Spin to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Strong track record of project management

– Cytec Spin 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 Cytec Spin 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 Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success are -

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Cytec Spin, firm in the HBR case study Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Cytec Spin 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 decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Cytec Spin 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. Cytec Spin 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Cytec Spin 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.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success, 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Cytec Spin is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Cytec Spin needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cytec Spin to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

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 Cytec Spin supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cytec Spin vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success 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 Cytec Spin has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Cytec Spin 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 - Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success, is just above the industry average. Cytec Spin 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cytec Spin 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.




Opportunities Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success | 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 Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success are -

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cytec Spin 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Cytec Spin can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Cytec Spin can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.

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. Cytec Spin 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 Cytec Spin 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Cytec Spin 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Cytec Spin 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cytec Spin to increase its market reach. Cytec Spin will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Cytec Spin 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 Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cytec Spin to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cytec Spin 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, Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success, 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 Cytec Spin 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.

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. Cytec Spin 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. Cytec Spin 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.

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. Cytec Spin can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.




Threats Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success are -

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 Cytec Spin 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. Cytec Spin needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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 Cytec Spin.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success, Cytec Spin 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 .

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 Cytec Spin in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline 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. Cytec Spin 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.

Increasing wage structure of Cytec Spin

– 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 Cytec Spin.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Cytec Spin 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.

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.

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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cytec Spin 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 Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success .

Environmental challenges

– Cytec Spin 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. Cytec Spin can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.

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. Cytec Spin can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success 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 Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success 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 Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success 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 Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success 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 Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (B): Managing the Challenges of Success 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 Cytec Spin needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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