The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida

In February 2007, Jonah Nobleza started Marina Gana Vida ("MGV") in the Davao coastal area in the Philippines, which historically had been the home of many subsistence fishermen living in poverty. MGV sold hatchery-bred fry fish seed stocks, fresh fish and packaged fish products produced in its own processing plant. The main social objective of MGV was to help the poor living in the area through job or business opportunities so that some day they could lift their households out of poverty. Since 2009, MGV had been gradually meeting its social, environmental and economic goals. It provided direct and indirect employment to many poor households. Nobleza faced conflicting goals as he tried to scale up MGV's production. Should he replace the women workers with machines that could produce more jars of processed fish products per day? Without a sizable business, he would have trouble proving his successful business model to those who would be willing to provide the much-needed funds to MGV. What could he do to balance his philanthropic and business goals in a social enterprise such as MGV?

Authors :: Ali Farhoomand, Shiu Kau Wong

Topics :: Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Tags :: Social enterprise, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida" written by Ali Farhoomand, Shiu Kau Wong includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mgv Fish facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social enterprise and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mgv Fish, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mgv Fish 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mgv Fish
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 Mgv Fish

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Strengths The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Mgv Fish in The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida Harvard Business Review case study are -

Ability to recruit top talent

– Mgv Fish is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Strong track record of project management

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

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Mgv Fish 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Mgv Fish is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Analytics focus

– Mgv Fish 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 Ali Farhoomand, Shiu Kau Wong 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.

Organizational Resilience of Mgv Fish

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

High brand equity

– Mgv Fish has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mgv Fish to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Diverse revenue streams

– Mgv Fish is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida 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.

Learning organization

- Mgv Fish 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 Mgv Fish is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Mgv Fish 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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Mgv Fish in the sector have low bargaining power. The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mgv Fish to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry

– The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mgv Fish to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mgv Fish to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

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Weaknesses The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida are -

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Mgv Fish, firm in the HBR case study The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida 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, Mgv Fish 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.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ali Farhoomand, Shiu Kau Wong suggests that, Mgv Fish 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mgv Fish 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. Mgv Fish 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida, is just above the industry average. Mgv Fish 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida, in the dynamic environment Mgv Fish has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mgv Fish has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Need for greater diversity

– Mgv Fish 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida HBR case study mentions - Mgv Fish 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Mgv Fish products

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

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Mgv Fish 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 Mgv Fish supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mgv Fish vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

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Opportunities The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida | 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 The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida are -

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mgv Fish is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida 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, Mgv Fish can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mgv Fish 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. Mgv Fish can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Mgv Fish 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 The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mgv Fish to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

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. Mgv Fish 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. Mgv Fish 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mgv Fish 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, The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida, 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 Mgv Fish 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Mgv Fish 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Mgv Fish has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mgv Fish to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida case study. Mgv Fish can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Better consumer reach

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

Buying journey improvements

– Mgv Fish can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida 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

– Mgv Fish 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Mgv Fish 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.

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Threats The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida are -

Regulatory challenges

– Mgv Fish 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. Mgv Fish 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 Mgv Fish

– 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 Mgv Fish.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida, Mgv Fish 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 .

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Mgv Fish high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.

Capital market disruption

– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Mgv Fish.

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

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Mgv Fish 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Mgv Fish 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mgv Fish with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

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 Mgv Fish 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, Mgv Fish 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 The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida .

Shortening product life cycle

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

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida 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 The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida 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 The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida 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 The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida 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 The Aquaculture Industry in the Philippines: Creating Social Values at Marina Gana Vida 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 Mgv Fish needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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