Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A)
Faced with a persistent robbery problem at his convenience store company, Sean Sportun, security and loss prevention manager at Mac's of Central Canada, looked to standardize safety measures and devise a new way of preventing employee injury. But as a 32-year old with just one year on the job, Sportun had to tailor his message for change carefully to his colleagues, many of whom had worked for Mac's for decades. The case provides an overview of the convenience store industry and examines the challenges of crime prevention in a late-night retail environment.
Swot Analysis of "Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A)" written by Francesca Gino, Katherine DeCelles, Olivia Hull includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mac's Prevention facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Ethics, Human resource management, Knowledge management, Public relations, Workspaces and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mac's Prevention, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mac's Prevention 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 Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mac's Prevention
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Mac's Prevention
Strengths Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mac's Prevention in Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mac's Prevention 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 Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mac's Prevention to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mac's Prevention to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mac's Prevention is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Mac's Prevention is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mac's Prevention in the sector have low bargaining power. Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mac's Prevention to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mac's Prevention 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 Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) 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.
Analytics focus
– Mac's Prevention 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 Francesca Gino, Katherine DeCelles, Olivia Hull 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.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Mac's Prevention 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 Mac's Prevention in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mac's Prevention is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Mac's Prevention in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mac's Prevention 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.
Weaknesses Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mac's Prevention 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 - Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A), is just above the industry average. Mac's Prevention 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) 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 Mac's Prevention 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Mac's Prevention 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 to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mac's Prevention is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) 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 Mac's Prevention 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) 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 Mac's Prevention has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Mac's Prevention has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
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 Mac's Prevention supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mac's Prevention vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Mac's Prevention is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Mac's Prevention needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Mac's Prevention to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) | 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 Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mac's Prevention has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mac's Prevention to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) case study. Mac's Prevention can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mac's Prevention to increase its market reach. Mac's Prevention 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Mac's Prevention 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 Organizational Development segment.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mac's Prevention is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) 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.
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. Mac's Prevention can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Mac's Prevention can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) 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 Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Mac's Prevention 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. Mac's Prevention 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mac's Prevention can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mac's Prevention operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mac's Prevention 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 Mac's Prevention 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, Mac's Prevention 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, Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Mac's Prevention can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Mac's Prevention 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.
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 Mac's Prevention 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.
Threats Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mac's Prevention is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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. Mac's Prevention needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mac's Prevention 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
– Mac's Prevention 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A), Mac's Prevention may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
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 Mac's Prevention.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Mac's Prevention 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mac's Prevention in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development 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.
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. Mac's Prevention 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mac's Prevention 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 Mac's Prevention
– 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 Mac's Prevention.
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 Mac's Prevention business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Mac's Prevention 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 Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) 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 Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) 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 Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) 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 Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) 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 Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) 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 Mac's Prevention needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
