MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner
Accompanied by product #PON335A two-party, multi-issue negotiation between a farmer and a neighbor over the sale or lease of part of the neighbor's land A Vermont farmer somewhat interested in the possibility of expanding activities has considered going into maple syrup production, wood cutting, or increasing the farmer's cow herd. The farmer's neighbor is a person from Boston who only comes up on occasional weekends and holidays and is currently interested in selling or leasing at least part of the property. In preliminary discussions, the two have differed significantly on their assessments of the land owned by the Bostonian, but have agreed to meet and discuss the situation further. This is a role play case.
Swot Analysis of "MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner" written by Roger Fisher, Andrew Clarkson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Farmer's Neighbor facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Farmer's Neighbor, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Farmer's Neighbor 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 MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Farmer's Neighbor
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 Farmer's Neighbor
Strengths MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Farmer's Neighbor in MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Farmer's Neighbor is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Farmer's Neighbor in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Farmer's Neighbor in the sector have low bargaining power. MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Farmer's Neighbor to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Farmer's Neighbor 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 Farmer's Neighbor is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Farmer's Neighbor 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 Roger Fisher, Andrew Clarkson 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Farmer's Neighbor is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Farmer's Neighbor 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 Farmer's Neighbor in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Farmer's Neighbor digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Farmer's Neighbor 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
– Farmer's Neighbor has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Farmer's Neighbor 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Farmer's Neighbor is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner 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.
Weaknesses MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner are -
Need for greater diversity
– Farmer's Neighbor 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner 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 MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Farmer's Neighbor is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner, in the dynamic environment Farmer's Neighbor has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Farmer's Neighbor has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner, is just above the industry average. Farmer's Neighbor 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner, it seems that the employees of Farmer's Neighbor 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Farmer's Neighbor products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Farmer's Neighbor needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Farmer's Neighbor 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. Farmer's Neighbor 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Farmer's Neighbor needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Farmer's Neighbor is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Farmer's Neighbor needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Farmer's Neighbor to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Farmer's Neighbor, firm in the HBR case study MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Farmer's Neighbor is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner | 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 MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Farmer's Neighbor has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Farmer's Neighbor to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner case study. Farmer's Neighbor can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Farmer's Neighbor 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. Farmer's Neighbor 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Farmer's Neighbor 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Farmer's Neighbor can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner 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.
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. Farmer's Neighbor can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Farmer's Neighbor in the consumer business. Now Farmer's Neighbor can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Farmer's Neighbor 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, MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Farmer's Neighbor 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Farmer's Neighbor is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner 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.
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 Farmer's Neighbor 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Farmer's Neighbor 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Farmer's Neighbor 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Farmer's Neighbor can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner are -
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 Farmer's Neighbor.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Farmer's Neighbor
– 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 Farmer's Neighbor.
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. Farmer's Neighbor can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Farmer's Neighbor 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. Farmer's Neighbor can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Farmer's Neighbor is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Farmer's Neighbor 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 MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Farmer's Neighbor 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Farmer's Neighbor 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.
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. Farmer's Neighbor needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Farmer's Neighbor 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Farmer's Neighbor 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Farmer's Neighbor with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner 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 MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner 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 MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner 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 MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner 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 MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Owner 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 Farmer's Neighbor needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
