Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment
To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color.Monsanto is the biotechnology leader in agriculture. How does it use its leadership in Round Up to fund long-term research and development in biotechnology that is acceptable to the priority system of consumers in different parts of the world? Includes color exhibits. This case is available in only hard copy format (HBP does not have digital distribution rights to the content). As a result, a digital Educator Copy of the case is not available through this web site.
Swot Analysis of "Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment" written by Ray A. Goldberg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Biotechnology Color.monsanto facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Customers, Disruptive innovation, Entrepreneurship, Government, Internet, Leadership, Research & development and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Biotechnology Color.monsanto, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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 Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Biotechnology Color.monsanto
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 Biotechnology Color.monsanto
Strengths Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Biotechnology Color.monsanto in Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Biotechnology Color.monsanto
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Biotechnology Color.monsanto does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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 Biotechnology Color.monsanto is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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 Ray A. Goldberg 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 Global Business field
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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 Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Biotechnology Color.monsanto digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Biotechnology Color.monsanto has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Diverse revenue streams
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Biotechnology Color.monsanto to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Biotechnology Color.monsanto products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Biotechnology Color.monsanto needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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, Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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. Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ray A. Goldberg suggests that, Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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 - Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment 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 Biotechnology Color.monsanto 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment 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 Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Biotechnology Color.monsanto is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment, in the dynamic environment Biotechnology Color.monsanto has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Biotechnology Color.monsanto has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Biotechnology Color.monsanto is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment | 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 Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Biotechnology Color.monsanto in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business 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, Biotechnology Color.monsanto can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Biotechnology Color.monsanto operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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. Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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 Biotechnology Color.monsanto to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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.
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 Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Biotechnology Color.monsanto is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business 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.
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. Biotechnology Color.monsanto can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Biotechnology Color.monsanto has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Biotechnology Color.monsanto to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment case study. Biotechnology Color.monsanto can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment are -
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 Biotechnology Color.monsanto in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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 Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment, Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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 .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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.
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.
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 Biotechnology Color.monsanto business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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. Biotechnology Color.monsanto needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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.
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 Biotechnology Color.monsanto.
Environmental challenges
– Biotechnology Color.monsanto needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Biotechnology Color.monsanto can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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. Biotechnology Color.monsanto 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 Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment 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 Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment 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 Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment 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 Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment 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 Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment 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 Biotechnology Color.monsanto needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
