Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy
Finolex Industries Limited was India's largest rigid PVC pipes and fittings manufacturer and the second largest PVC resin manufacturer. It was a family-led enterprise with a long history of philanthropy. The Mukul Madhav Foundation was the charitable arm of the company, and it's functioning needed to be streamlined while considering the resources, timelines, and strategies required to meet its obligations. A strategic framework had to be applied so that Finolex Industries Limited and the Mukul Madhav Foundation could work together on a long-term basis on projects that benefitted the society as well as the organization. Utkarsh Majmudar is affiliated with Indian Institute of Management Udaipur.
Swot Analysis of "Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy" written by Utkarsh Majmudar, Namrata Rana includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Finolex Mukul facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy, Sustainability and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, technology disruption,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Finolex Mukul, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Finolex Mukul 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 Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Finolex Mukul
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 Finolex Mukul
Strengths Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Finolex Mukul in Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Finolex Mukul is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Finolex Mukul 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 Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Finolex Mukul 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 Finolex Mukul is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Finolex Mukul to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Finolex Mukul to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Finolex Mukul 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 Utkarsh Majmudar, Namrata Rana 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Finolex Mukul 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.
High brand equity
– Finolex Mukul has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Finolex Mukul to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Finolex Mukul is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Finolex Mukul has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy 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.
Organizational Resilience of Finolex Mukul
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Finolex Mukul does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Finolex Mukul is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Finolex Mukul digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Finolex Mukul 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 Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy are -
Need for greater diversity
– Finolex Mukul 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy, it seems that the employees of Finolex Mukul 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Finolex Mukul is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Finolex Mukul 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Finolex Mukul 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. Finolex Mukul 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy 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 Finolex Mukul has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Utkarsh Majmudar, Namrata Rana suggests that, Finolex Mukul 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy HBR case study mentions - Finolex Mukul 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Finolex Mukul 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Finolex Mukul, firm in the HBR case study Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Finolex Mukul 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.
Opportunities Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy | 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 Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy are -
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 Finolex Mukul in the consumer business. Now Finolex Mukul can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Finolex Mukul to increase its market reach. Finolex Mukul 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Finolex Mukul 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 Finolex Mukul to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Finolex Mukul 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, Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Finolex Mukul 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 Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Finolex Mukul to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Finolex Mukul 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Finolex Mukul can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Finolex Mukul can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Finolex Mukul can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Finolex Mukul in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Finolex Mukul 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Finolex Mukul 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. Finolex Mukul 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Finolex Mukul has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Finolex Mukul to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy case study. Finolex Mukul can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Finolex Mukul is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Finolex Mukul.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Finolex Mukul 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Finolex Mukul 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Finolex Mukul with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Finolex Mukul
– 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 Finolex Mukul.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy, Finolex Mukul may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Finolex Mukul 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 Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Finolex Mukul 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Finolex Mukul 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.
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. Finolex Mukul 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.
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. Finolex Mukul can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy 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 Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy 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 Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy 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 Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy 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 Finolex: Developing an Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy 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 Finolex Mukul needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.