"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 - – technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, 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 -
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cloning Pet digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cloning Pet 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.
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.
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.
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.
Organizational Resilience of Cloning Pet
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cloning Pet does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
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.
Strong track record of project management
– Cloning Pet 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 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.
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.
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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cloning Pet to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cloning Pet to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cloning Pet has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cloning Pet 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 "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 -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." HBR case study mentions - Cloning Pet 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.
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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Cloning Pet 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. Cloning Pet 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, R. Edward Freeman, Will Truslow, Pia Ahmad, Bidhan Parmar suggests that, Cloning Pet 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." 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 "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cloning Pet is planning to shift buying processes online.
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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cloning Pet is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the "Make Mine a Russian Short-Hair, and Hold The Allergies, Please." 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 Cloning Pet has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cloning Pet can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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.
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.
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. Cloning Pet can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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.
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.
Loyalty marketing
– Cloning Pet 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.
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 Cloning Pet in the consumer business. Now Cloning Pet can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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.
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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cloning Pet in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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." .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cloning Pet 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cloning Pet is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Cloning Pet 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. Cloning Pet can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
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.
