Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack
Achal Industries was a 40-year-old proprietary family enterprise engaged in cashew processing and export. Giridhar Prabhu, 57, was Achal's second generation entrepreneur and managed its operations in the Indian states of Karnataka and Maharashtra. He had been in this labor intensive business for close to three decades. Family owned businesses and private partnership firms dominated this sector. The cashew processing industry was facing severe constraints due to high employee turnover and a labor shortage. Many enterprises had started exploring the option of automating cashew processing at their factories. Giridhar had also been studying and analyzing this option. He anticipated that, five years hence, automation would prove more economical than labor-intensive cashew processing. His own plan was to retire from the business in five years, but to his disappointment, he found that none of his three daughters was interested in running the business. Giridhar felt he would not have the ability to manage a new, profitable automated factory, which would demand quite an effort, as he got older. Lack of support from the family would add to that burden. In November 2014, he was contemplating future options that included selling his business, expanding the business and inducting professional non-family members to steer the enterprise's future. The dilemma before him was to choose the option that would be best for him, his enterprise and his family.
Swot Analysis of "Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack" written by Sivakumar Alur, Kavil Ramachandran, Navneet Bhatnagar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cashew Giridhar facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial analysis, Leadership transitions, Succession planning and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cashew Giridhar, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cashew Giridhar 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 Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cashew Giridhar
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 Cashew Giridhar
Strengths Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cashew Giridhar in Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cashew Giridhar has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cashew Giridhar digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cashew Giridhar 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cashew Giridhar has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cashew Giridhar 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cashew Giridhar in the sector have low bargaining power. Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cashew Giridhar to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Cashew Giridhar
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cashew Giridhar does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Cashew Giridhar has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cashew Giridhar to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cashew Giridhar to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cashew Giridhar to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Cashew Giridhar is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Cashew Giridhar has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Cashew Giridhar 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 Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Cashew Giridhar is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cashew Giridhar 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.
Weaknesses Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Cashew Giridhar 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 - Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack HBR case study mentions - Cashew Giridhar 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 Cashew Giridhar 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack 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 Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cashew Giridhar is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack 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 Cashew Giridhar has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Cashew Giridhar 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. Cashew Giridhar 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 Cashew Giridhar, firm in the HBR case study Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Cashew Giridhar needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cashew Giridhar 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.
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 Cashew Giridhar supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cashew Giridhar 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, Cashew Giridhar is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack | 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 Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack are -
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. Cashew Giridhar 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. Cashew Giridhar 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Cashew Giridhar can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cashew Giridhar is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cashew Giridhar 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.
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 Cashew Giridhar in the consumer business. Now Cashew Giridhar can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cashew Giridhar 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 Cashew Giridhar to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cashew Giridhar to increase its market reach. Cashew Giridhar 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cashew Giridhar has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cashew Giridhar to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack case study. Cashew Giridhar can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cashew Giridhar 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cashew Giridhar 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Cashew Giridhar 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.
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. Cashew Giridhar can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cashew Giridhar 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.
Threats Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cashew Giridhar high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack, Cashew Giridhar 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cashew Giridhar is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cashew Giridhar 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cashew Giridhar 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 Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack .
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. Cashew Giridhar 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
– Cashew Giridhar 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.
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. Cashew Giridhar can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Cashew Giridhar
– 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 Cashew Giridhar.
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. Cashew Giridhar needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Cashew Giridhar in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cashew Giridhar with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Cashew Giridhar.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack 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 Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack 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 Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack 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 Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack 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 Leadership Succession at Achal: A Tough Nut to Crack 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 Cashew Giridhar needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
