Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost
A family-owned grocery business, Askew's Foods Inc. (Askew's), had to decide how to handle the threat of a Wal-Mart Superstore, which included a grocery department, coming into its market area. Before the news of Wal-Mart's potential arrival, Askew's had already purchased a site on which to build a second store in the city's uptown area, and the board needed to approve the design for the new building. Askew's had a long-standing tradition of being an environmentally sensitive, socially responsible, and community-minded retailer, and the board wanted to uphold those corporate values in the design and operation of the new Askew's store; however, the pending arrival of this low-cost competitor had to be considered in the decision. Was it fiscally responsible for Askew's to stay true to its principles and build a state-of-the-art, sustainable grocery store, or, given the new threat to its market share and profitability, as well as limited funding from its bank, should it opt for the more conservative and less expensive standard box option? Was cost the only consideration? The authors Robert Malach and Sandra Malach are affiliated with University of Calgary.
Swot Analysis of "Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost" written by Robert Malach, Sandra Malach includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Askew's Malach facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social responsibility, Sustainability and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Askew's Malach, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Askew's Malach 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 Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Askew's Malach
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 Askew's Malach
Strengths Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Askew's Malach in Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Askew's Malach 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Askew's Malach is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Askew's Malach has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Askew's Malach digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Askew's Malach 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
– Askew's Malach is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Askew's Malach 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 Askew's Malach is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Askew's Malach 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 Askew's Malach in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Askew's Malach has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Askew's Malach 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
– Askew's Malach is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost 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 brand equity
– Askew's Malach has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Askew's Malach to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Askew's Malach in the sector have low bargaining power. Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Askew's Malach to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Askew's Malach is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Askew's Malach 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Askew's Malach 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost, in the dynamic environment Askew's Malach has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Askew's Malach has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Askew's Malach 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Askew's Malach 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. Askew's Malach 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Askew's Malach 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost, is just above the industry average. Askew's Malach 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Askew's Malach has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Askew's Malach 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Askew's Malach is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost | 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 Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Askew's Malach 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Askew's Malach 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 Askew's Malach to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Askew's Malach 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Askew's Malach can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost 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.
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. Askew's Malach 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. Askew's Malach 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Askew's Malach to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Developing new processes and practices
– Askew's Malach can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Askew's Malach 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.
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 Askew's Malach in the consumer business. Now Askew's Malach can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Askew's Malach has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Askew's Malach to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost case study. Askew's Malach can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Askew's Malach is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Askew's Malach 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.
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. Askew's Malach can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Askew's Malach 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 Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Askew's Malach 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.
Increasing wage structure of Askew's Malach
– 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 Askew's Malach.
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 Askew's Malach in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Askew's Malach.
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. Askew's Malach can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost, Askew's Malach 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 .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Askew's Malach 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.
Environmental challenges
– Askew's Malach 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. Askew's Malach can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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. Askew's Malach 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Askew's Malach 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 Askew's Malach business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Askew's Malach needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost 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 Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost 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 Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost 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 Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost 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 Askew's Foods versus Wal-Mart: Sustainable versus Low-Cost 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 Askew's Malach needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
