Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives
In 2014, Dairy Khoury, a medium-sized family dairy located in Lebanon, was accused of using a health-threatening carcinogenic substance as a preservative in its products. The news created an immediate food safety concern and a product harm crisis, resulting in dramatic reputation loss and operational risks to Dairy Khoury. In this article, we analyze Dairy Khoury's response to the product harm crisis through an examination of the communication strategies used to address internal and external stakeholders. We then introduce traditional corrective action response strategies from the crisis communication literature. In the Dairy Khoury case study, the company opted to defend its reputation and clarify the misunderstanding using catalytic defiance, a long-term crisis response strategy. Our analysis provides insight regarding the risks and benefits of pursuing long-term versus short-term strategies during crisis recovery. This article contributes to crisis communication theory and practice and sheds light on the dynamics of crisis management in family businesses.
Swot Analysis of "Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives" written by Nadine A Yehya, W. Timothy Coombs includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Khoury Dairy facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Public relations, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Khoury Dairy, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Khoury Dairy 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 Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Khoury Dairy
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Khoury Dairy
Strengths Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Khoury Dairy in Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Khoury Dairy is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Khoury Dairy in the sector have low bargaining power. Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Khoury Dairy to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Khoury Dairy 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Khoury Dairy 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Khoury Dairy to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Khoury Dairy to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Khoury Dairy is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives 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.
Analytics focus
– Khoury Dairy 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 Nadine A Yehya, W. Timothy Coombs 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Khoury Dairy in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Khoury Dairy has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Khoury Dairy 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Khoury Dairy 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 Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Khoury Dairy
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Khoury Dairy does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Khoury Dairy has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives 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.
Weaknesses Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Nadine A Yehya, W. Timothy Coombs suggests that, Khoury Dairy 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Khoury Dairy 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Khoury Dairy 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives HBR case study mentions - Khoury Dairy 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives, is just above the industry average. Khoury Dairy 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives, in the dynamic environment Khoury Dairy has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Khoury Dairy has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Khoury Dairy, firm in the HBR case study Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Khoury Dairy is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Khoury Dairy 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 - Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Khoury Dairy supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Khoury Dairy vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives | 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 Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Khoury Dairy 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Khoury Dairy 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 Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Khoury Dairy can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Khoury Dairy can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Khoury Dairy operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Khoury Dairy to increase its market reach. Khoury Dairy 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Khoury Dairy in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Buying journey improvements
– Khoury Dairy can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Khoury Dairy 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Khoury Dairy has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Khoury Dairy to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives case study. Khoury Dairy can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Khoury Dairy can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Khoury Dairy can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
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. Khoury Dairy can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Khoury Dairy is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives 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.
Threats Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Khoury Dairy 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 Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives .
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Khoury Dairy can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Khoury Dairy 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.
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 Khoury Dairy in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Khoury Dairy is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Khoury Dairy 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
– Khoury Dairy 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Khoury Dairy with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives, Khoury Dairy may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Regulatory challenges
– Khoury Dairy 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Khoury Dairy 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. Khoury Dairy can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives 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 Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives 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 Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives 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 Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives 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 Catalytic Defiance as a Crisis Communication Strategy: The Risk of Pursuing Long-Term Objectives 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 Khoury Dairy needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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