This four-case series follows a team through a weeklong kaizen event. The A case sets up the situation, and the B (UVA-OM-1259), C (UVA-OM-1260), and D (UVA-OM-1261) cases depict what happens on the successive days. The series teaches such concepts as takt time, line balancing, and managing change. The A case is intended to be handed out as an assignment, and the B, C, and D cases provide real-time exercises for the students.
Swot Analysis of "Reynaldo Roche (A)" written by Jeriel Chua, Elliott N. Weiss includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Om Uva facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Reynaldo Roche (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Reynaldo Roche (A) casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Reynaldo Roche (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Reynaldo Roche (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Om Uva, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Om Uva 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 Reynaldo Roche (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Reynaldo Roche (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Om Uva
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 Om Uva
Strengths Reynaldo Roche (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Om Uva in Reynaldo Roche (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Reynaldo Roche (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Om Uva to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Om Uva to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Om Uva digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Om Uva 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.
High brand equity
– Om Uva has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Om Uva to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Om Uva is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Reynaldo Roche (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Om Uva 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 Jeriel Chua, Elliott N. Weiss 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 Om Uva 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Reynaldo Roche (A) 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
– Om Uva is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Reynaldo Roche (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Om Uva 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 Reynaldo Roche (A) - 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 Technology & Operations field
– Om Uva 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 Om Uva in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Om Uva 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Om Uva in the sector have low bargaining power. Reynaldo Roche (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Om Uva to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Reynaldo Roche (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Reynaldo Roche (A) are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Om Uva 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Om Uva 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Om Uva products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Om Uva needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Om Uva, firm in the HBR case study Reynaldo Roche (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Reynaldo Roche (A), 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Om Uva 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Reynaldo Roche (A) 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 Om Uva has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Om Uva is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Reynaldo Roche (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Reynaldo Roche (A) 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 Om Uva 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Om Uva is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Om Uva needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Om Uva to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Om Uva 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 - Reynaldo Roche (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Reynaldo Roche (A) | 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 Reynaldo Roche (A) are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Om Uva can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Om Uva 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, Reynaldo Roche (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Om Uva can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Om Uva to increase its market reach. Om Uva 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Om Uva 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Om Uva 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.
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. Om Uva can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Om Uva can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Reynaldo Roche (A) 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Om Uva 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 Reynaldo Roche (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Om Uva to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Om Uva 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 Om Uva to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Om Uva 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.
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 Om Uva in the consumer business. Now Om Uva 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 Om Uva has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Om Uva to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Reynaldo Roche (A) case study. Om Uva can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Reynaldo Roche (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Reynaldo Roche (A) are -
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 Om Uva business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Om Uva 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Om Uva 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.
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 Om Uva.
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. Om Uva will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Reynaldo Roche (A), Om Uva 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Om Uva 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.
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 Om Uva in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Om Uva is facing in Technology & Operations 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, Om Uva 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 Reynaldo Roche (A) .
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.
Environmental challenges
– Om Uva 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. Om Uva can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Increasing wage structure of Om Uva
– 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 Om Uva.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Reynaldo Roche (A) 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 Reynaldo Roche (A) 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 Reynaldo Roche (A) 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 Reynaldo Roche (A) 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 Reynaldo Roche (A) 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 Om Uva needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.