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Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy


Environmental entrepreneur Andrew Mangan promoted by-product synergy (BPS) programs as a means to achieve sustainable development goals. BPS is a process that helps companies discover new ways to convert their wastes into saleable commodities. Mangan's goals were twofold: to promote wider adoption of BPS programs and to create a business out of helping companies adopt such programs. Mangan faced both business and regulatory barriers, not all of which he was able to overcome. Critical support from the EPA was granted verbally but meaningful measures were not yet implemented. Mangan also needed to develop a pricing policy and business model that would sustain Applied Sustainability. Recent developments, such as a relationship with the state of New Jersey, suggested a positive outlook, though much uncertainty remained. Mangan reflected on his decade-long struggle as he considered his options.

Authors :: Terry Anderson, Susan MacKenzie

Topics :: Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Tags :: Entrepreneurship, Government, Pricing, Sustainability, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy" written by Terry Anderson, Susan MacKenzie includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mangan Bps facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Government, Pricing, Sustainability and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mangan Bps, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mangan Bps 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 Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mangan Bps
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 Mangan Bps




Strengths Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Mangan Bps in Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy Harvard Business Review case study are -

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Mangan Bps has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Mangan Bps 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

– Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mangan Bps to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mangan Bps to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Strong track record of project management

– Mangan Bps is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Mangan Bps is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Analytics focus

– Mangan Bps 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 Terry Anderson, Susan MacKenzie 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Mangan Bps 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 Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Learning organization

- Mangan Bps 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 Mangan Bps is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Mangan Bps has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mangan Bps 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.

Organizational Resilience of Mangan Bps

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mangan Bps does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field

– Mangan Bps 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 Mangan Bps in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.






Weaknesses Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy are -

Lack of clear differentiation of Mangan Bps products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mangan Bps needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy, in the dynamic environment Mangan Bps has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mangan Bps has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mangan Bps 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy 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 Mangan Bps has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Mangan Bps 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.

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 Mangan Bps supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mangan Bps vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy 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 Mangan Bps 's lucrative customers.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy, is just above the industry average. Mangan Bps 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Mangan Bps 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 - Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Terry Anderson, Susan MacKenzie suggests that, Mangan Bps 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Mangan Bps has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.




Opportunities Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy | 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 Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy are -

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mangan Bps 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, Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mangan Bps 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.

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. Mangan Bps can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mangan Bps is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mangan Bps can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mangan Bps operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Mangan Bps can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Developing new processes and practices

– Mangan Bps 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mangan Bps to increase its market reach. Mangan Bps 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mangan Bps 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Mangan Bps 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.

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. Mangan Bps 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. Mangan Bps 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

– Mangan Bps 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 Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mangan Bps to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Mangan Bps 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.




Threats Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy are -

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. Mangan Bps needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Mangan Bps 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.

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.

Regulatory challenges

– Mangan Bps 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.

Increasing wage structure of Mangan Bps

– 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 Mangan Bps.

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 Mangan Bps business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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. Mangan Bps 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.

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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Mangan Bps 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.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Mangan Bps has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mangan Bps 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Mangan Bps is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Mangan Bps.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mangan Bps 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 Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy 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 Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy 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 Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy 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 Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy 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 Applied Sustainability LLC: Making a Business Case for By-Product Synergy 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 Mangan Bps needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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