Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps"
Having previously raised pigs on his farm with unsuccessful results, a Canadian farmer has always dreamed of reintroducing pigs to his cash crop farm. The decision is particularly difficult, as he must consider not only the financial viability of his options, but also the environmental costs, benefits, and the welfare of the animals and workers - collectively referred to as the "Four Ps" (profits, planet, people, and pigs). Although the market for organic meat remains comparatively limited, it is a growing segment, and one that the farmer wants to tap into to maximize a first-mover advantage. However, the transition poses many risks as well. Will he be able to achieve his dream of re-introducing pigs to his family farm? Or will the attempt to transition to organic pork bury his currently profitable cash crop business? Kent Walker is affiliated with Odette School of Business. Ryan Donally is affiliated with University of Windsor.
Swot Analysis of "Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps"" written by Kent Walker, Ryan Donally includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pigs Farm facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps"
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pigs Farm, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pigs Farm 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 Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pigs Farm
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 Pigs Farm
Strengths Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Pigs Farm in Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Pigs Farm 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 Pigs Farm in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Pigs Farm 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 Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Pigs Farm 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 Kent Walker, Ryan Donally 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Pigs Farm 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.
Training and development
– Pigs Farm has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" 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.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Pigs Farm digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Pigs Farm 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.
High brand equity
– Pigs Farm has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Pigs Farm to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Pigs Farm in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Pigs Farm 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 Pigs Farm is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Pigs Farm is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Pigs Farm to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Pigs Farm to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Pigs Farm is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Weaknesses Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" are -
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 Pigs Farm supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps", it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Pigs Farm vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" 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 Pigs Farm has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" 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 Pigs Farm 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Pigs Farm 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
– Pigs Farm 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Pigs Farm products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Pigs Farm needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps", it seems that the employees of Pigs Farm 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Pigs Farm 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Pigs Farm 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. Pigs Farm 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" HBR case study mentions - Pigs Farm 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps", is just above the industry average. Pigs Farm 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 Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" | 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 Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Pigs Farm to increase its market reach. Pigs Farm 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Pigs Farm can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Pigs Farm operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
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. Pigs Farm can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Pigs Farm to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
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. Pigs Farm can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Pigs Farm has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Pigs Farm to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" case study. Pigs Farm can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Pigs Farm is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Pigs Farm 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Pigs Farm 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Pigs Farm 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Pigs Farm 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, Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps", to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Pigs Farm can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Pigs Farm 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 Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" 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. Pigs Farm needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Pigs Farm can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Pigs Farm in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Pigs Farm 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 Pigs Farm
– 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 Pigs Farm.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Pigs Farm 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 Pigs Farm.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Pigs Farm 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 Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Pigs Farm demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Pigs Farm 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.
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 Pigs Farm business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Pigs Farm 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" 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 Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" 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 Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" 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 Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" 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 Rivest Farms: Farming Approaches and the "Four Ps" 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 Pigs Farm needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
