Swot Analysis of "The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations" written by Samuel Fromartz includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that 5 Mini facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Sustainability and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions,
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%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the 5 Mini, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 5 Mini 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 The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of 5 Mini
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 5 Mini
Strengths The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of 5 Mini in The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the 5 Mini 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.
Analytics focus
– 5 Mini 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 Samuel Fromartz 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of 5 Mini in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– 5 Mini 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
– 5 Mini has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– 5 Mini 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 5 Mini in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of 5 Mini
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that 5 Mini does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– 5 Mini 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 The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of 5 Mini in the sector have low bargaining power. The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps 5 Mini to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– 5 Mini 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 The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– 5 Mini has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled 5 Mini to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- 5 Mini 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 5 Mini is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations 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 5 Mini supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left 5 Mini vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations 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 5 Mini 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, 5 Mini 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations, it seems that the employees of 5 Mini 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 to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, 5 Mini is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of 5 Mini is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. 5 Mini needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help 5 Mini to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations, is just above the industry average. 5 Mini needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, 5 Mini 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.
Need for greater diversity
– 5 Mini 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of 5 Mini, firm in the HBR case study The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations 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 The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations 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 5 Mini has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations | 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 The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, 5 Mini is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of 5 Mini has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help 5 Mini to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations case study. 5 Mini can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, 5 Mini can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that 5 Mini operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, 5 Mini 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, The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for 5 Mini 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 5 Mini in the consumer business. Now 5 Mini can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– 5 Mini 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 The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help 5 Mini to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 5 Mini 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– 5 Mini 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.
Buying journey improvements
– 5 Mini can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations 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 5 Mini 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.
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. 5 Mini can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for 5 Mini 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 5 Mini to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations are -
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. 5 Mini needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents 5 Mini with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 5 Mini business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– 5 Mini 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. 5 Mini can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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 5 Mini.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that 5 Mini is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for 5 Mini 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.
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. 5 Mini can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. 5 Mini 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 The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations, 5 Mini 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 .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– 5 Mini 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, 5 Mini 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 The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations 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 The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations 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 The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations 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 The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations 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 The Mini-Cases: 5 Companies, 5 Strategies, 5 Transformations 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 5 Mini needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
