Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism
This case examines the management of home and host country risk by Beiersdorf during the interwar years. It can be used both in business history courses and more generally to teach political risk management by multinational corporations. Beiersdorf, a German personal products company, expanded globally before 1914, but had its foreign factories and intellectual property expropriated during World War 1. After 1919 ceo Willy Jacobson rebuilt the international business, and sought to protect it by "cloaking" the ultimate ownership. Following the appointment of Adolf Hitler, as German Chancellor in 1933, Beiersdorf and Jacobson personally also came under attack by the anti-Semitic Nazi regime in its home country. The case can be used as a vehicle to understand the rise of both host and home country risk by companies during the interwar years, and more generally to explore the strategies which firms can follow to attempt to manage such risks.
Swot Analysis of "Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism" written by Geoffrey G. Jones, Christina Lubinski includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Beiersdorf Jacobson facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Collaboration, Entrepreneurial management, Ethics, Government, International business, Risk management, Strategy execution and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Beiersdorf Jacobson, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Beiersdorf Jacobson 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 Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Beiersdorf Jacobson
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 Beiersdorf Jacobson
Strengths Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Beiersdorf Jacobson in Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Beiersdorf Jacobson has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Beiersdorf Jacobson to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Beiersdorf Jacobson to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Beiersdorf Jacobson is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism 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.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Beiersdorf Jacobson digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
Learning organization
- Beiersdorf Jacobson 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 Beiersdorf Jacobson is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Beiersdorf Jacobson in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Beiersdorf Jacobson 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 Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism - 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 Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
Analytics focus
– Beiersdorf Jacobson 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 Geoffrey G. Jones, Christina Lubinski 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
– Beiersdorf Jacobson 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 Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Beiersdorf Jacobson is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism 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 Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism, is just above the industry average. Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Beiersdorf Jacobson, firm in the HBR case study Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism HBR case study mentions - Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
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 Beiersdorf Jacobson supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Beiersdorf Jacobson vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism, in the dynamic environment Beiersdorf Jacobson has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Beiersdorf Jacobson has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism 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 Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Beiersdorf Jacobson is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Beiersdorf Jacobson 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. Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Beiersdorf Jacobson is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Beiersdorf Jacobson needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Beiersdorf Jacobson to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism | 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 Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Beiersdorf Jacobson to increase its market reach. Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Beiersdorf Jacobson 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 Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Beiersdorf Jacobson to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Beiersdorf Jacobson can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Beiersdorf Jacobson can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Beiersdorf Jacobson is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Beiersdorf Jacobson can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Beiersdorf Jacobson 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 Beiersdorf Jacobson to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Beiersdorf Jacobson 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, Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Beiersdorf Jacobson to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
Threats Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism are -
Regulatory challenges
– Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
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.
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 Beiersdorf Jacobson.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Beiersdorf Jacobson has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
Environmental challenges
– Beiersdorf Jacobson 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. Beiersdorf Jacobson can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
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. Beiersdorf Jacobson needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Beiersdorf Jacobson
– 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 Beiersdorf Jacobson.
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.
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 Beiersdorf Jacobson in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Beiersdorf Jacobson 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 Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism .
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. Beiersdorf Jacobson can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Beiersdorf Jacobson 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism 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 Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism 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 Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism 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 Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism 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 Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism 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 Beiersdorf Jacobson needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.