John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow
The Cardboard Snowplow tells the story of an inventor who has a novel idea that he believes represents a business opportunity. In response to this story, students are asked to summarize the problem (the high cost and physical exertion of clearing snow) and proposed solution (a corrugated cardboard snowplow). They are asked to (1) assess the solution's likely potential as a business opportunity; (2) identify what they perceive as the most likely sources of business launch vulnerability; and (3) propose potential tests that might inform a data-driven "go / no go" decision. Finally, they are told the true story of the cardboard snowplow - a story that motivates thoughtful discussion about not solely the perils of making assumptive leaps when assessing opportunities, but also the important pre-start questions that people sometimes forget to ask. The case is designed to (1) introduce or review the various component parts of a new business concept; (2) expose students to feasibility screening; and (3) begin breaking the habit of using subjective, assumption-driven, personal opinions in evaluating new ideas.
Swot Analysis of "John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow" written by Elissa Grossman, David Grossman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Snowplow Cardboard facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, Market research and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Snowplow Cardboard, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Snowplow Cardboard 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Snowplow Cardboard
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Snowplow Cardboard
Strengths John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Snowplow Cardboard in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Snowplow Cardboard 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
– Snowplow Cardboard has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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.
High brand equity
– Snowplow Cardboard has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Snowplow Cardboard to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Snowplow Cardboard 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 Elissa Grossman, David Grossman 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Snowplow Cardboard in the sector have low bargaining power. John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Snowplow Cardboard to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Snowplow Cardboard is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Snowplow Cardboard 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Snowplow Cardboard
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Snowplow Cardboard does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Snowplow Cardboard in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Snowplow Cardboard 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 Snowplow Cardboard is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Snowplow Cardboard has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Weaknesses John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Snowplow Cardboard 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow, in the dynamic environment Snowplow Cardboard has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Snowplow Cardboard has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Elissa Grossman, David Grossman suggests that, Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Snowplow Cardboard is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Snowplow Cardboard needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Snowplow Cardboard to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow, is just above the industry average. Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Snowplow Cardboard 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. Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Snowplow Cardboard is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Snowplow Cardboard needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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 Snowplow Cardboard 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Opportunities John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow | 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Snowplow Cardboard can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Snowplow Cardboard in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 Snowplow Cardboard in the consumer business. Now Snowplow Cardboard can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Snowplow Cardboard 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 Snowplow Cardboard to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Snowplow Cardboard has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Snowplow Cardboard to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow case study. Snowplow Cardboard can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Snowplow Cardboard can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Snowplow Cardboard operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Snowplow Cardboard can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Snowplow Cardboard 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, John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Snowplow Cardboard is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Snowplow Cardboard 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Snowplow Cardboard to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Snowplow Cardboard 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Threats John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Snowplow Cardboard 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Snowplow Cardboard 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Snowplow Cardboard is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Snowplow Cardboard 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.
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 Snowplow Cardboard business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Snowplow Cardboard in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Snowplow Cardboard 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Snowplow Cardboard 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow, Snowplow Cardboard may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
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. Snowplow Cardboard 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.
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 Snowplow Cardboard.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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 John Q. Inventor and the Cardboard Snowplow 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 Snowplow Cardboard needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.