Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years
Supplement to case IMB597. This two-part case traces the evolution of the Tata Group, one of India's largest and well-known business groups, from inception until date. The first case principally focuses on Ratan Tata's leadership of the Tata Group, from 1991 to 2012. Tata Group History, the first section of the case, traces the early years of the Tata Group, its management philosophy, the leadership years of its legendary chairman, JRD Tata and ends with the elevation of Ratan Tata as chairman of the group in 1991. Leading Change details the group's transformation under Ratan Tata's leadership. Passing the Baton describes the succession process that led to the appointment of Cyrus Mistry as chairman of the group in late 2012. The second case describes Cyrus Mistry's leadership of the group until it ended abruptly with his sudden removal as chairman of Tata Sons on October 24, 2016, and the reinstatement of Ratan Tata as interim chairman.
Authors :: K S Manikandan, K Rajyalakshmi, J Ramachandran
Swot Analysis of "Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years" written by K S Manikandan, K Rajyalakshmi, J Ramachandran includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Tata Ratan facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Leadership and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Tata Ratan, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Tata Ratan 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 Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Tata Ratan
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 Tata Ratan
Strengths Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Tata Ratan in Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Tata Ratan is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Tata Ratan 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 Tata Ratan in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Tata Ratan in the sector have low bargaining power. Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Tata Ratan to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Tata Ratan 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 Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Tata Ratan has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years 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.
Analytics focus
– Tata Ratan 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 K S Manikandan, K Rajyalakshmi, J Ramachandran 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Tata Ratan is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years 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
– Tata Ratan is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Tata Ratan 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.
Learning organization
- Tata Ratan 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 Tata Ratan is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Tata Ratan is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Tata Ratan has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years HBR case study mentions - Tata Ratan takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Tata Ratan 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Tata Ratan 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years, it seems that the employees of Tata Ratan 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Tata Ratan, firm in the HBR case study Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Tata Ratan products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Tata Ratan needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Tata Ratan is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Tata Ratan needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Tata Ratan to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Tata Ratan 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, K S Manikandan, K Rajyalakshmi, J Ramachandran suggests that, Tata Ratan 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Tata Ratan has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years 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 Tata Ratan has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years | 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 Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Tata Ratan 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Tata Ratan has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Tata Ratan to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years case study. Tata Ratan can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Tata Ratan 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Tata Ratan 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 Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Tata Ratan to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Tata Ratan 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.
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 Tata Ratan in the consumer business. Now Tata Ratan can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Tata Ratan can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Tata Ratan 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, Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Tata Ratan 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 Tata Ratan to increase its market reach. Tata Ratan 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Tata Ratan 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 Tata Ratan to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Tata Ratan 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Tata Ratan 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.
Threats Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Tata Ratan 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years, Tata Ratan 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Tata Ratan demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Tata Ratan in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Tata Ratan 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.
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. Tata Ratan 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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Tata Ratan 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.
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.
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 Tata Ratan.
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. Tata Ratan can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Tata Ratan
– 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 Tata Ratan.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Tata Ratan has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Tata Ratan needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years 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 Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years 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 Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years 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 Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years 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 Leading the Tata Group (B): The Cyrus Mistry Years 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 Tata Ratan needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
