Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory
Supplement to case IN1056. Direct foreign investment in Russia was only 1% of GDP in 1999, and Russian industry was only half as productive in that year as in 1992. Not surprisingly, the prevailing opinion is that privatization has only aggravated Russia's economic problems, and that foreign firms should avoid investing in Russia for the time being. This case study argues that, on the contrary, Russian companies can be successfully integrated within a multinational organization. It shows that an Anglo-Saxon-style revolutionary change process is not always the best way to proceed in Eastern European organizations; that the commonly accepted goals of rapid change, employee empowerment and a flatter hierarchy are not necessarily appropriate in these organizations in the short-term, moreover that even the definitions of trust, strategy and leadership can differ according to cultural context. The challenge lies in understanding the complexities the lingering influence of the Soviet planned central economy - as well as the Russian culture and management systems.
Authors :: Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, Elizabeth Florent-Treacy, Pavel Pavlovsky
Swot Analysis of "Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory" written by Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, Elizabeth Florent-Treacy, Pavel Pavlovsky includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Russian Russia facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Mergers & acquisitions, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Russian Russia, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Russian Russia 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 Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Russian Russia
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 Russian Russia
Strengths Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Russian Russia in Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Russian Russia digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Russian Russia 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Russian Russia is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Russian Russia in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Russian Russia 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 Russian Russia is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Russian Russia 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 Leadership & Managing People industry
– Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Russian Russia to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Russian Russia to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Russian Russia in the sector have low bargaining power. Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Russian Russia to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Russian Russia
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Russian Russia does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Russian Russia has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Russian Russia to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Russian Russia 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 Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Russian Russia 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 Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, Elizabeth Florent-Treacy, Pavel Pavlovsky 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.
Weaknesses Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Russian Russia 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, Elizabeth Florent-Treacy, Pavel Pavlovsky suggests that, Russian Russia 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Russian Russia has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory, 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Russian Russia, firm in the HBR case study Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory 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 Russian Russia 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Russian Russia 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. Russian Russia 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.
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 Russian Russia supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Russian Russia vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory, in the dynamic environment Russian Russia has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Russian Russia has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Russian Russia 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Russian Russia 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.
Opportunities Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory | 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 Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Russian Russia can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Russian Russia 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Russian Russia can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Russian Russia 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Russian Russia can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Russian Russia 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Russian Russia can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Russian Russia 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Russian Russia in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Russian Russia 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.
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 Russian Russia in the consumer business. Now Russian Russia can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Russian Russia has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Russian Russia to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory case study. Russian Russia can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Russian Russia 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 Russian Russia to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory are -
Environmental challenges
– Russian Russia 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. Russian Russia can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Russian Russia with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Russian Russia 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.
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 Russian Russia 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Russian Russia 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 Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory .
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 Russian Russia in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Russian Russia 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.
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. Russian Russia 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.
Increasing wage structure of Russian Russia
– 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 Russian Russia.
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. Russian Russia can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory, Russian Russia 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory 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 Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory 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 Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory 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 Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory 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 Waking the Bear (B): "Danonizing" the Bolshevik Biscuit Factory 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 Russian Russia needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
