KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti
After a massive earthquake destroyed many buildings in Haiti, reconstruction has become a source of opportunity and competition for non-governmental organizations, international business and local companies. The Haitian chairman and CEO of a very successful, multi-million dollar information technology company wants to provide affordable quality housing, especially for the disadvantaged poor, using steel frame technology from his start-up, KayTek. What he has not yet determined is how to get his product to market. He has three options: to keep sales and construction in-house, to outsource, or to franchise in order to create opportunities for young Haitian engineers to become entrepreneurs. Each option has costs, in terms not only of finances and time but also of control of brand quality and accessibility.
Swot Analysis of "KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti" written by David Wood, Taylor Sekhon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kaytek Haitian facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices,
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%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kaytek Haitian, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kaytek Haitian 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 KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kaytek Haitian
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Kaytek Haitian
Strengths KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kaytek Haitian in KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Kaytek Haitian
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Kaytek Haitian does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Kaytek Haitian has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Kaytek Haitian to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Kaytek Haitian 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 Kaytek Haitian is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Kaytek Haitian 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 Kaytek Haitian in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Kaytek Haitian has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Kaytek Haitian 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.
Training and development
– Kaytek Haitian has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti 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.
Analytics focus
– Kaytek Haitian 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 David Wood, Taylor Sekhon 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Kaytek Haitian is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Kaytek Haitian in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Kaytek Haitian 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 KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Kaytek Haitian 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 KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Kaytek Haitian digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Kaytek Haitian 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.
Weaknesses KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti 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 KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Kaytek Haitian is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Kaytek Haitian supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Kaytek Haitian vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Kaytek Haitian 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti 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 Kaytek Haitian 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Kaytek Haitian 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Kaytek Haitian, firm in the HBR case study KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti, it seems that the employees of Kaytek Haitian 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Kaytek Haitian 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, Kaytek Haitian 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti, in the dynamic environment Kaytek Haitian has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Kaytek Haitian has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti | 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 KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Kaytek Haitian 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Kaytek Haitian can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Kaytek Haitian operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Kaytek Haitian 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kaytek Haitian 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, KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kaytek Haitian 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Buying journey improvements
– Kaytek Haitian can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Kaytek Haitian has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Kaytek Haitian to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti case study. Kaytek Haitian can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Kaytek Haitian 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kaytek Haitian 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 Kaytek Haitian to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kaytek Haitian to increase its market reach. Kaytek Haitian 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
– Kaytek Haitian 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 KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Kaytek Haitian to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Kaytek Haitian 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.
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 Kaytek Haitian in the consumer business. Now Kaytek Haitian can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kaytek Haitian 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 Kaytek Haitian in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Kaytek Haitian 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 Kaytek Haitian
– 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 Kaytek Haitian.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Kaytek Haitian is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Kaytek Haitian 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. Kaytek Haitian can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti, Kaytek Haitian may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Kaytek Haitian 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.
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. Kaytek Haitian 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.
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 Kaytek Haitian.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Kaytek Haitian 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti 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 KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti 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 KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti 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 KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti 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 KayTek: Manufacturing Housing and Livelihoods in Haiti 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 Kaytek Haitian needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
