Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged)
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.Examines the extended conflict between free traders and protectionists in 19th century Britain. It culminates with Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel's decision at the end of 1845 about whether to repeal the Corn Laws, a series of acts that had protected British agriculture for almost 200 years. With landowners and industrialists battling fiercely over the issues, nearly everyone agreed that the decision would be momentous.
Swot Analysis of "Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged)" written by David A. Moss includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Corn Laws facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Economics, Policy and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Corn Laws, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Corn Laws 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 Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Corn Laws
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 Corn Laws
Strengths Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Corn Laws in Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Corn Laws is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Corn Laws
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Corn Laws does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Corn Laws is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Corn Laws 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.
Training and development
– Corn Laws has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) 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.
Analytics focus
– Corn Laws 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 David A. Moss 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
– Corn Laws has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Corn Laws 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.
Learning organization
- Corn Laws 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 Corn Laws is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Corn Laws in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Corn Laws to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Corn Laws to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Corn Laws has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Corn Laws to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Corn Laws in the sector have low bargaining power. Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Corn Laws to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Corn Laws 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. Corn Laws 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Corn Laws, firm in the HBR case study Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Corn Laws 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) 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 Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Corn Laws is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) HBR case study mentions - Corn Laws 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged), 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 dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Corn Laws supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Corn Laws vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged), it seems that the employees of Corn Laws don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Need for greater diversity
– Corn Laws has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, David A. Moss suggests that, Corn Laws 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged), in the dynamic environment Corn Laws has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Corn Laws has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) | 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 Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Corn Laws has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Corn Laws to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) case study. Corn Laws can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Corn Laws 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Corn Laws 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Corn Laws 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Corn Laws to increase its market reach. Corn Laws 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Corn Laws 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Corn Laws can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Corn Laws can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Corn Laws operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Corn Laws 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 Corn Laws to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Corn Laws can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Corn Laws 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 Corn Laws 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Corn Laws can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) are -
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.
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. Corn Laws can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Corn Laws needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Corn Laws with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Corn Laws demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Corn Laws 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Corn Laws 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Corn Laws 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged), Corn Laws 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Corn Laws has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Corn Laws 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.
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 Corn Laws business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Corn Laws 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. Corn Laws can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
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. Corn Laws 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) 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 Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) 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 Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) 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 Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) 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 Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged) 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 Corn Laws needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
