Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government
Since 1981, the U.S. federal government has operated a price support program to help sugar beet and sugar cane producers and processors. This complex program works through a combination of loans, import quotas, and duties. As a result, sugar prices in the United States are significantly higher than world prices. For example, in December 2001, U.S. consumers paid 22.9 cents per pound, while the world price was just 9 cents per pound. The General Accounting Office estimates that the total cost to consumers is $1.9 billion a year. Uses a simple demand-and-supply framework with real-world data to assess the economic and political consequences of the U.S. sugar program.
Authors :: Nabil Al-Najjar, Sandeep Baliga, Chris Forman
Swot Analysis of "Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government" written by Nabil Al-Najjar, Sandeep Baliga, Chris Forman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sugar Quotas facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Globalization, Policy, Pricing and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sugar Quotas, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sugar Quotas 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 Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sugar Quotas
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sugar Quotas
Strengths Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sugar Quotas in Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sugar Quotas is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sugar Quotas 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sugar Quotas 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 Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sugar Quotas is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government 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
– Sugar Quotas is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Sugar Quotas 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 Sugar Quotas in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Sugar Quotas has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sugar Quotas to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Sugar Quotas
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sugar Quotas does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Sugar Quotas 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 Sugar Quotas is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sugar Quotas in the sector have low bargaining power. Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sugar Quotas to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Sugar Quotas 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 Nabil Al-Najjar, Sandeep Baliga, Chris Forman 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sugar Quotas has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sugar Quotas 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 Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government, is just above the industry average. Sugar Quotas 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sugar Quotas 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sugar Quotas is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government HBR case study mentions - Sugar Quotas 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 Sugar Quotas, firm in the HBR case study Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Sugar Quotas 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 - Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government 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 Sugar Quotas has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Global Business 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Nabil Al-Najjar, Sandeep Baliga, Chris Forman suggests that, Sugar Quotas 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 Sugar Quotas is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Sugar Quotas needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sugar Quotas to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government 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 Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sugar Quotas is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government | 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 Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government are -
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 Sugar Quotas in the consumer business. Now Sugar Quotas can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sugar Quotas has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sugar Quotas to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government case study. Sugar Quotas can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sugar Quotas 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 Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sugar Quotas to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Sugar Quotas 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sugar Quotas 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 Global Business segment.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sugar Quotas 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sugar Quotas to increase its market reach. Sugar Quotas 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Global Business industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Sugar Quotas can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Sugar Quotas can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sugar Quotas 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Sugar Quotas has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, 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, Sugar Quotas can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sugar Quotas operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sugar Quotas can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business 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.
Threats Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sugar Quotas with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sugar Quotas is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Sugar Quotas
– 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 Sugar Quotas.
Regulatory challenges
– Sugar Quotas 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 Global Business industry regulations.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sugar Quotas 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Sugar Quotas can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Sugar Quotas.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sugar Quotas in the Global Business industry. The Global Business 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Sugar Quotas has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sugar Quotas needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Global Business 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.
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. Sugar Quotas 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government, Sugar Quotas may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sugar Quotas 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government 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 Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government 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 Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government 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 Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government 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 Sugar Daddy: Quotas and the U.S. Government 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 Sugar Quotas needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
