The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards
Describes a small, luxury retail chain's operational sophistication achieved through the use of technology and "high-touch" customer service. A family-run business, Mitchells has built its success with a customer service strategy known internally as "hugging." The term is deceptively simple. The firm's true success lies in its blend of a warm, other-oriented corporate culture, sophisticated information technology, and an effective family business structure. It is currently considering further expansion for future generations. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
Authors :: Amy C. Edmondson, Corey Hajim, Kelly Mulderry, John A. Davis
Swot Analysis of "The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards" written by Amy C. Edmondson, Corey Hajim, Kelly Mulderry, John A. Davis includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mitchells Family facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, Growth strategy, IT, Knowledge management, Organizational culture, Supply chain and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mitchells Family, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mitchells Family 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 The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mitchells Family
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 Mitchells Family
Strengths The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mitchells Family in The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mitchells Family is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mitchells Family 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 The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mitchells Family has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mitchells Family 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 Mitchells Family in the sector have low bargaining power. The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mitchells Family to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards 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.
Training and development
– Mitchells Family has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards 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.
Learning organization
- Mitchells Family 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 Mitchells Family is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Mitchells Family is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Mitchells Family
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mitchells Family does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Mitchells Family is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mitchells Family 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mitchells Family 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 The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards are -
Need for greater diversity
– Mitchells Family 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Mitchells Family 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mitchells Family 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Amy C. Edmondson, Corey Hajim, Kelly Mulderry, John A. Davis suggests that, Mitchells Family is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Lack of clear differentiation of Mitchells Family products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mitchells Family needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards, it seems that the employees of Mitchells Family 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards 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 Mitchells Family 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards, in the dynamic environment Mitchells Family has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mitchells Family has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards, 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 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 Mitchells Family supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mitchells Family vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mitchells Family 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. Mitchells Family 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.
Opportunities The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards | 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 The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mitchells Family is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Mitchells Family can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards 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
– Mitchells Family 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mitchells Family 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mitchells Family 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 The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mitchells Family to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Mitchells Family 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Mitchells Family 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mitchells Family can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mitchells Family 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 Mitchells Family to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Mitchells Family can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Mitchells Family 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.
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 Mitchells Family in the consumer business. Now Mitchells Family can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Mitchells Family 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 The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mitchells Family has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mitchells Family 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mitchells Family 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 wage structure of Mitchells Family
– 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 Mitchells Family.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mitchells Family 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 The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mitchells Family 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mitchells Family with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mitchells Family is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Mitchells Family can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Mitchells Family 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 Mitchells Family in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Mitchells Family 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mitchells Family 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.
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 Mitchells Family business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards 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 The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards 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 The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards 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 The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards 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 The Mitchell Family and Mitchells/Richards 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 Mitchells Family needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
