Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations
In September 2014, the chief executive officer of Michel Nassif et Fils, an importer and producer of food and printed goods headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon, is trying to figure out what decisions he needs to take to ensure the development of the company that had been founded by his grandfather a century ago. At the age of 48, right after the birth of his first son, he realizes that he needs a plan to ensure a viable future for this family-owned company. He knows that succession planning will involve the entire management team, none of whom currently has a leadership position. As had his father and grandfather before him, he alone makes all decisions for the company. He is considering whether to pick a potential successor internally to be trained and prepared for senior management or to remain at the head of the company until his son is old enough to take over. Randa Salamoun is affiliated with American University of Beirut. Lina Tannir is affiliated with American University of Beirut.
Swot Analysis of "Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations" written by Randa Salamoun, Lina Tannir includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Beirut Fils facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Beirut Fils, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Beirut Fils 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 Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Beirut Fils
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 Beirut Fils
Strengths Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Beirut Fils in Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Beirut Fils 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 Randa Salamoun, Lina Tannir 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.
Organizational Resilience of Beirut Fils
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Beirut Fils does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Beirut Fils is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Beirut Fils has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Beirut Fils 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Beirut Fils in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Beirut Fils is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Beirut Fils has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Beirut Fils to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Beirut Fils to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Beirut Fils to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Beirut Fils 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 Beirut Fils in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Beirut Fils 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Beirut Fils digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Beirut Fils 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.
Training and development
– Beirut Fils has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations 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.
Weaknesses Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations 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 Beirut Fils supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Beirut Fils vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations 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 Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Beirut Fils is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Randa Salamoun, Lina Tannir suggests that, Beirut Fils 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Beirut Fils is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations, it seems that the employees of Beirut Fils don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Beirut Fils 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. Beirut Fils 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 Beirut Fils, firm in the HBR case study Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations 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 Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations 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 Beirut Fils has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Beirut Fils is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Beirut Fils needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Beirut Fils to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations 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 Beirut Fils 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations, 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.
Opportunities Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations | 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 Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations are -
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Beirut Fils to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Beirut Fils can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Beirut Fils can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Beirut Fils in the consumer business. Now Beirut Fils can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Beirut Fils 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Beirut Fils 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Beirut Fils 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Beirut Fils to increase its market reach. Beirut Fils 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
– Beirut Fils 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 Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Beirut Fils to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Beirut Fils 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
– Beirut Fils 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Beirut Fils can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations 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
– Beirut Fils 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 Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations 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 Beirut Fils business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Beirut Fils 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. Beirut Fils can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Beirut Fils 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Beirut Fils 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.
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. Beirut Fils can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Beirut Fils is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Beirut Fils 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.
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 Beirut Fils.
Increasing wage structure of Beirut Fils
– 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 Beirut Fils.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Beirut Fils 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 Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations .
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Beirut Fils 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 Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations, Beirut Fils 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 Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations 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 Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations 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 Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations 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 Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations 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 Michel Nassif Et Fils: Succeeding Generations 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 Beirut Fils needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.