OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge"
OrganiGram Holdings Inc. (OrganiGram), a New Brunswick-based company, was a licensed producer of medical cannabis in Canada. On April 20, 2016, the Canadian government announced that legislation to legalize recreational cannabis would be introduced in the spring of 2017 with the intention of having it become law in the spring of 2018. The announcement triggered expansion activities at all of Canada's largest licensed producers of cannabis. However, there were many unknowns in terms of how the legalization of recreational cannabis would happen. What would the timeline be? Who would be allowed to grow cannabis? In anticipation of regulatory changes, OrganiGram needed to analyze the Canadian cannabis industry and engage in a scenario-planning exercise. How could OrganiGram move through this time of uncertainty, while both creating a strategy for the anticipated recreational cannabis market and continuing to work on its medical cannabis sales? Opal Leung is affiliated with St. Francis Xavier University.
Swot Analysis of "OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge"" written by Opal Leung includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cannabis Organigram facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Supply chain and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge"
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cannabis Organigram, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cannabis Organigram 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 OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cannabis Organigram
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Cannabis Organigram
Strengths OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cannabis Organigram in OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cannabis Organigram digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cannabis Organigram has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cannabis Organigram in the sector have low bargaining power. OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cannabis Organigram to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Cannabis Organigram has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" 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
– Cannabis Organigram has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cannabis Organigram 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.
Learning organization
- Cannabis Organigram 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 Cannabis Organigram is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Cannabis Organigram
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cannabis Organigram does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cannabis Organigram to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cannabis Organigram to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Cannabis Organigram is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Cannabis Organigram 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 Opal Leung 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Cannabis Organigram is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cannabis Organigram 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Cannabis Organigram in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" are -
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 Cannabis Organigram supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge", it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cannabis Organigram vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Cannabis Organigram 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cannabis Organigram 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cannabis Organigram, firm in the HBR case study OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– Cannabis Organigram 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, Cannabis Organigram 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. Cannabis Organigram 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge", it seems that the employees of Cannabis Organigram don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" HBR case study mentions - Cannabis Organigram takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cannabis Organigram is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Cannabis Organigram needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cannabis Organigram 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 OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge", in the dynamic environment Cannabis Organigram has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cannabis Organigram has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cannabis Organigram has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Opportunities OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" | 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 OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cannabis Organigram can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cannabis Organigram operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cannabis Organigram has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cannabis Organigram to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" case study. Cannabis Organigram can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cannabis Organigram 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 Cannabis Organigram to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cannabis Organigram to increase its market reach. Cannabis Organigram 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cannabis Organigram 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 OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cannabis Organigram to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Cannabis Organigram can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Cannabis Organigram can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cannabis Organigram 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 Cannabis Organigram in the consumer business. Now Cannabis Organigram can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Cannabis Organigram to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cannabis Organigram is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cannabis Organigram 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, OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge", to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cannabis Organigram 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Threats OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" are -
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cannabis Organigram 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Cannabis Organigram can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cannabis Organigram 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 OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" .
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 Cannabis Organigram.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cannabis Organigram in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Cannabis Organigram 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cannabis Organigram is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Cannabis Organigram business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cannabis Organigram has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cannabis Organigram needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
Environmental challenges
– Cannabis Organigram 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. Cannabis Organigram can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Cannabis Organigram in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cannabis Organigram 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" 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 OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" 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 OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" 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 OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" 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 OrganiGram: Navigating the Cannabis Industry with "Grey Knowledge" 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 Cannabis Organigram needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
