"Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please."
Having successfully completed the cloning of a cat, this case discusses the market for pet cloning, specifically allergen-free cats. The case looks at pet cloning from the perspectives of (1) an animal rights activist, (2) a pet lover, and (3) an individual allergic to cats. It also explores the business potential involved in this area.
Authors :: R. Edward Freeman, Will Truslow, Pia Ahmad, Bidhan Parmar
Topics :: Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Tags :: Health, International business, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of ""Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please."" written by R. Edward Freeman, Will Truslow, Pia Ahmad, Bidhan Parmar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cloning Pet facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health, International business, Social responsibility and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please."
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cloning Pet, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cloning Pet 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 "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cloning Pet
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 Cloning Pet
Strengths "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cloning Pet in "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Cloning Pet 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 "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cloning Pet 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cloning Pet in the sector have low bargaining power. "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cloning Pet to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cloning Pet 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Cloning Pet is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Cloning Pet in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Cloning Pet has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cloning Pet is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Cloning Pet has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cloning Pet to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Cloning Pet 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 R. Edward Freeman, Will Truslow, Pia Ahmad, Bidhan Parmar 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Cloning Pet 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 Cloning Pet in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cloning Pet 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Cloning Pet 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please.", is just above the industry average. Cloning Pet 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please.", in the dynamic environment Cloning Pet has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cloning Pet has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Cloning Pet 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cloning Pet is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Cloning Pet needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cloning Pet to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please.", it seems that the employees of Cloning Pet 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.
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 Cloning Pet supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please.", it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cloning Pet vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please.", it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." 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 Cloning Pet 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Cloning Pet 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 "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." | 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 "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cloning Pet to increase its market reach. Cloning Pet 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
– Cloning Pet 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cloning Pet 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 Cloning Pet to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cloning Pet can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cloning Pet has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cloning Pet to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." case study. Cloning Pet can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Cloning Pet can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cloning Pet 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, "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please.", to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cloning Pet can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cloning Pet operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
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 Cloning Pet 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Cloning Pet 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. Cloning Pet 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cloning Pet 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 "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cloning Pet to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cloning Pet 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cloning Pet 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 "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." are -
Increasing wage structure of Cloning Pet
– 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 Cloning Pet.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Cloning Pet can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cloning Pet 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 "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." .
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. Cloning Pet needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cloning Pet has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cloning Pet needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 Cloning Pet business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please.", Cloning Pet 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. Cloning Pet 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Cloning Pet 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.
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 Cloning Pet.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cloning Pet in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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
– Cloning Pet 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cloning Pet with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." 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 "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." 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 "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." 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 "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." 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 "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." 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 Cloning Pet needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.