Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects
As the leading plant technology company in the global food system, how can Monsanto share this technology with small-sale producers and not-for-profit researchers and institutions?
Authors :: James E. Austin, Diana Barrett, Stephanie Oestreich
Swot Analysis of "Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects" written by James E. Austin, Diana Barrett, Stephanie Oestreich includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Monsanto Technology facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, 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, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Monsanto Technology, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Monsanto Technology 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 Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Monsanto Technology
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Monsanto Technology
Strengths Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Monsanto Technology in Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Monsanto Technology 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Monsanto Technology has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Monsanto Technology 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Monsanto Technology in the sector have low bargaining power. Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Monsanto Technology to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Monsanto Technology 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 James E. Austin, Diana Barrett, Stephanie Oestreich 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.
Training and development
– Monsanto Technology has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Monsanto Technology 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 Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Monsanto Technology has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Monsanto Technology to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Monsanto Technology 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 Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Monsanto Technology 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects 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
– Monsanto Technology is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Monsanto Technology to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Monsanto Technology to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Monsanto Technology is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Monsanto Technology needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Monsanto Technology 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 Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects, is just above the industry average. Monsanto Technology 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects HBR case study mentions - Monsanto Technology 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Monsanto Technology 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 - Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Monsanto Technology 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Monsanto Technology 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.
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 Monsanto Technology supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Monsanto Technology vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Monsanto Technology 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects 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 Monsanto Technology 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects 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 Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Monsanto Technology is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects | 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 Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Monsanto Technology 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Monsanto Technology 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 Technology & Operations segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Monsanto Technology to increase its market reach. Monsanto Technology 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Monsanto Technology is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects 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 Monsanto Technology has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Monsanto Technology to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects case study. Monsanto Technology can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Monsanto Technology 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 Monsanto Technology to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Monsanto Technology 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Monsanto Technology 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 Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Monsanto Technology to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Monsanto Technology can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Monsanto Technology can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Monsanto Technology 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. Monsanto Technology 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Monsanto Technology in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Monsanto Technology can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations 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.
Threats Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects are -
Regulatory challenges
– Monsanto Technology 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Monsanto Technology is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Monsanto Technology has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Monsanto Technology needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Monsanto Technology 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 Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects .
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 Monsanto Technology business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Monsanto Technology in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects, Monsanto Technology may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
Increasing wage structure of Monsanto Technology
– 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 Monsanto Technology.
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. Monsanto Technology 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Monsanto Technology in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Monsanto Technology 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects 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 Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects 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 Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects 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 Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects 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 Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects 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 Monsanto Technology needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.