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 - – wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, 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 -
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.
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.
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.
Training and development
– Mac's Prevention has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) 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.
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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mac's Prevention has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mac's Prevention 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.
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.
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.
Innovation driven organization
– Mac's Prevention is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Mac's Prevention 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 Mac's Prevention is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mac's Prevention 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.
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 -
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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Mac's Prevention products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mac's Prevention needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) HBR case study mentions - Mac's Prevention 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Mac's Prevention, firm in the HBR case study Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Mac's Prevention is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Mac's Prevention 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A), in the dynamic environment Mac's Prevention has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mac's Prevention has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Mac's Prevention 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mac's Prevention 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. Mac's Prevention 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.
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 -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Mac's Prevention can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mac's Prevention in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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.
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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mac's Prevention 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 Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mac's Prevention to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mac's Prevention can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
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 Mac's Prevention in the consumer business. Now Mac's Prevention can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 -
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 .
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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mac's Prevention has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mac's Prevention needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development 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 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mac's Prevention 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 Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A) .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Mac's Prevention in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.