Case Study Description of Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B)
Describes how Manville's managers responded when their main product, fiberglass, was classified by an international research agency as a possible human carcinogen.
Swot Analysis of "Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B)" written by Lynn Sharp Paine, Sarah B. Gant includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Carcinogen Manville's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics, Marketing, Product development and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Carcinogen Manville's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Carcinogen Manville'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 Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Carcinogen Manville's
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 Carcinogen Manville's
Strengths Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Carcinogen Manville's in Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Carcinogen Manville's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Carcinogen Manville's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Carcinogen Manville's 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Carcinogen Manville's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Carcinogen Manville's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Carcinogen Manville's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Carcinogen Manville's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Carcinogen Manville's 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Carcinogen Manville's in the sector have low bargaining power. Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Carcinogen Manville's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Carcinogen Manville'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 Carcinogen Manville's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Carcinogen Manville's 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 Lynn Sharp Paine, Sarah B. Gant 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Carcinogen Manville'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)
– Carcinogen Manville'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 Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Carcinogen Manville's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) 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 Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) 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.
Weaknesses Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B), is just above the industry average. Carcinogen Manville's 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 Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) HBR case study mentions - Carcinogen Manville'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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) 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 Carcinogen Manville's 's lucrative customers.
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 Carcinogen Manville's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Carcinogen Manville's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) 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 Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Carcinogen Manville's is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) 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 Carcinogen Manville's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B), it seems that the employees of Carcinogen Manville's 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, Carcinogen Manville's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Carcinogen Manville's 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. Carcinogen Manville's 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B), in the dynamic environment Carcinogen Manville's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Carcinogen Manville's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Carcinogen Manville'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 Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) | 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 Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) are -
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. Carcinogen Manville's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Carcinogen Manville's 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Carcinogen Manville'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 Technology & Operations segment.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Carcinogen Manville's 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Carcinogen Manville's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) 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.
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. Carcinogen Manville's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Carcinogen Manville's 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Carcinogen Manville'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 Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Carcinogen Manville's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Carcinogen Manville's 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, Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Carcinogen Manville's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Carcinogen Manville's has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
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. Carcinogen Manville'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. Carcinogen Manville'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.
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 Carcinogen Manville's 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.
Threats Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) 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 Carcinogen Manville's.
Regulatory challenges
– Carcinogen Manville'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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Carcinogen Manville's 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 Carcinogen Manville's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Carcinogen Manville's 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Carcinogen Manville'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 Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Carcinogen Manville's demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Carcinogen Manville's in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Carcinogen Manville'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. Carcinogen Manville's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Carcinogen Manville's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Carcinogen Manville's 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.
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. Carcinogen Manville's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Carcinogen Manville's 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. Carcinogen Manville'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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) 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 Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) 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 Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) 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 Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) 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 Manville Corp. Fiber Glass Group (B) 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 Carcinogen Manville's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.