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 - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, 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 -
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Monsanto's Biotechnology 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 Monsanto's Biotechnology in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Strong track record of project management
– Monsanto's Biotechnology is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Monsanto's Biotechnology has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) - 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 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 -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
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.
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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Monsanto's Biotechnology 's lucrative 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.
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.
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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C), it seems that the employees of Monsanto's Biotechnology 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Dorothy Leonard, Robert A. Irwin suggests that, Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
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 -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Monsanto's Biotechnology has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Monsanto's Biotechnology to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Monsanto's Biotechnology can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Monsanto's Biotechnology 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.
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.
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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Monsanto's Biotechnology can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Monsanto's Biotechnology can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (C) .
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.
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. Monsanto's Biotechnology can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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.
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.
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.