Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma
In 2012, Manish Enterprises, a leading coal supplier firm located in Ludhiana, India, was facing a decline in growth. A year later, a business graduate was appointed as the chief executive officer of the company. He managed to reduce the cash cycle from six months to three months by running the operations of the firm efficiently. Sales increased by 127 per cent, and the firm began financing its growth by taking advances from customers. The firm was thus able to reduce its investment in current assets. However, despite adopting best practices, the profitability of the business was declining. The challenges then faced by Manish Enterprises were to manage growth and liquidity while retaining profitability. The authors are affiliated with Management Development Institute.
Swot Analysis of "Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma" written by Shelly Singhal, Shailendra Kumar Rai includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Manish Enterprises facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Mergers & acquisitions and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Manish Enterprises, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Manish Enterprises 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 Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Manish Enterprises
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Manish Enterprises
Strengths Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Manish Enterprises in Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Manish Enterprises 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
– Manish Enterprises is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Strong track record of project management
– Manish Enterprises 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
– Manish Enterprises has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Manish Enterprises 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 Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Manish Enterprises is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Manish Enterprises 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 Shelly Singhal, Shailendra Kumar Rai 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Manish Enterprises to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Manish Enterprises to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Manish Enterprises 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 Manish Enterprises is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Manish Enterprises has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Manish Enterprises to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Manish Enterprises is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma 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.
Weaknesses Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma, in the dynamic environment Manish Enterprises has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Manish Enterprises has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma 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 Manish Enterprises has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma, is just above the industry average. Manish Enterprises 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Shelly Singhal, Shailendra Kumar Rai suggests that, Manish Enterprises 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Manish Enterprises 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, Manish Enterprises 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. Manish Enterprises 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Manish Enterprises 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 - Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Manish Enterprises is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Manish Enterprises needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Manish Enterprises to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma HBR case study mentions - Manish Enterprises 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.
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 Manish Enterprises supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Manish Enterprises vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Manish Enterprises 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 Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma | 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 Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma are -
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 Manish Enterprises 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Manish Enterprises can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Manish Enterprises operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
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. Manish Enterprises 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 Manish Enterprises in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Manish Enterprises 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Manish Enterprises can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Manish Enterprises 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. Manish Enterprises 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Manish Enterprises to increase its market reach. Manish Enterprises 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
– Manish Enterprises 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 Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Manish Enterprises to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Manish Enterprises is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Manish Enterprises 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Manish Enterprises can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Manish Enterprises can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
Threats Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Manish Enterprises in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Manish Enterprises 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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Manish Enterprises has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Manish Enterprises needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.
Increasing wage structure of Manish Enterprises
– 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 Manish Enterprises.
Environmental challenges
– Manish Enterprises 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. Manish Enterprises can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Manish Enterprises can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Manish Enterprises 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.
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 Manish Enterprises in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Manish Enterprises 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 Manish Enterprises.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma, Manish Enterprises may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma 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 Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma 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 Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma 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 Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma 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 Manish Enterprises: A Growth Versus Profitability Dilemma 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 Manish Enterprises needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.