Swot Analysis of "Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C)" written by Dorothy Leonard, Robert A. Irwin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Monsanto's Biotechnology facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Monsanto's Biotechnology, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Monsanto's Biotechnology 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's March into Biotechnology (C) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Monsanto's Biotechnology
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's Biotechnology
Strengths Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Monsanto's Biotechnology in Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Monsanto's Biotechnology has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Monsanto's Biotechnology to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Monsanto's Biotechnology is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) 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 Monsanto's Biotechnology
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Monsanto's Biotechnology does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Monsanto's Biotechnology is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Monsanto's Biotechnology 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 Monsanto's Biotechnology is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Monsanto's Biotechnology has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Monsanto's Biotechnology has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Monsanto's Biotechnology is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Monsanto's Biotechnology in the sector have low bargaining power. Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Monsanto's Biotechnology to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Monsanto's Biotechnology digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
Weaknesses Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C), 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Monsanto's Biotechnology has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) 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 Monsanto's Biotechnology has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Monsanto's Biotechnology is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Monsanto's Biotechnology needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Monsanto's Biotechnology to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C), in the dynamic environment Monsanto's Biotechnology has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Monsanto's Biotechnology has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Monsanto's Biotechnology products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Monsanto's Biotechnology needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Monsanto's Biotechnology has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C), is just above the industry average. Monsanto's Biotechnology 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Monsanto's Biotechnology is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Monsanto's Biotechnology 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. Monsanto's Biotechnology 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 Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) | 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's March into Biotechnology (C) are -
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. Monsanto's Biotechnology can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Monsanto's Biotechnology to increase its market reach. Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Monsanto's Biotechnology 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, Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C), 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
– Monsanto's Biotechnology can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Monsanto's Biotechnology 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's Biotechnology to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
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 Monsanto's Biotechnology in the consumer business. Now Monsanto's Biotechnology can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Monsanto's Biotechnology is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) 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's Biotechnology has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Monsanto's Biotechnology to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) case study. Monsanto's Biotechnology can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Monsanto's Biotechnology can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Monsanto's Biotechnology operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
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's Biotechnology 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's Biotechnology 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
Threats Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
Environmental challenges
– Monsanto's Biotechnology 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. Monsanto's Biotechnology can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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 Monsanto's Biotechnology.
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's Biotechnology 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Monsanto's Biotechnology 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 Monsanto's Biotechnology business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Monsanto's Biotechnology 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's Biotechnology has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Monsanto's Biotechnology 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Monsanto's Biotechnology 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 Monsanto's Biotechnology in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) 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's March into Biotechnology (C) 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's March into Biotechnology (C) 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's March into Biotechnology (C) 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's March into Biotechnology (C) 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's Biotechnology needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.