MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer
Accompanied by product #PON334.A 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 Farmer" written by Roger Fisher, Andrew Clarkson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Farmer Farmer's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer 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 Farmer casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer
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 Farmer case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Farmer Farmer's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Farmer Farmer's 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 Farmer can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Farmer Farmer's
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 Farmer's
Strengths MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Farmer Farmer's in MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Farmer Farmer's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Farmer Farmer's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Farmer Farmer's 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Farmer Farmer's 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Farmer Farmer's 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 MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Farmer Farmer's 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 Farmer's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Farmer Farmer's 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 Farmer's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Farmer Farmer's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Farmer Farmer's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Farmer Farmer's 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 Farmer 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Diverse revenue streams
– Farmer Farmer's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer 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.
High brand equity
– Farmer Farmer's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Farmer Farmer's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Farmer Farmer's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Farmer Farmer's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Farmer Farmer's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Farmer Farmer's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Farmer Farmer's 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 Farmer can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Farmer Farmer's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Farmer Farmer's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer 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 Farmer Farmer's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer HBR case study mentions - Farmer Farmer's 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, Farmer Farmer's 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Farmer Farmer's 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Farmer Farmer's, firm in the HBR case study MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Farmer Farmer's has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Farmer Farmer's 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Farmer Farmer's has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Opportunities MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer | 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 Farmer are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Farmer Farmer's 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 Farmer Farmer's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Farmer Farmer's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Farmer Farmer's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Farmer Farmer's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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 Farmer's in the consumer business. Now Farmer Farmer's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Farmer Farmer's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Farmer Farmer's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer case study. Farmer Farmer's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Farmer's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Farmer Farmer's 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Farmer Farmer's 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Farmer Farmer's can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Strategy & Execution segment.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Farmer Farmer's 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 Farmer's can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Farmer Farmer's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Farmer Farmer's to increase its market reach. Farmer Farmer's 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
– Farmer Farmer's 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 MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Farmer Farmer's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer 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 Farmer are -
Environmental challenges
– Farmer Farmer's 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 Farmer's 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 Farmer's is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Farmer Farmer's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Farmer Farmer's 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.
Increasing wage structure of Farmer Farmer's
– 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 Farmer's.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Farmer Farmer's 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 Farmer .
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 Farmer's 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Farmer Farmer's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Farmer's.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Farmer Farmer's 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. Farmer Farmer's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Farmer Farmer's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Farmer Farmer's 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 MOUNTAIN VIEW FARM - Confidential Instructions for the Farmer 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 Farmer 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 Farmer 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 Farmer 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 Farmer 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 Farmer's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
