Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A)
The case study focuses on risk management practices at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative, in particular the organization's crisis preparedness to ensure business continuity. The case provides detailed information on the dairy industry as well as the specific operations of Maryland & Virginia. It can be included in a risk management discussion within the context of supply chain management for an MBA or executive audience.
Authors :: Sarah Goldthwait Shoemaker, Enver Yucesan
Swot Analysis of "Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A)" written by Sarah Goldthwait Shoemaker, Enver Yucesan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Maryland Virginia facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Risk management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Maryland Virginia, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Maryland Virginia 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 Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Maryland Virginia
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 Maryland Virginia
Strengths Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Maryland Virginia in Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Maryland Virginia 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 Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Maryland Virginia is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Maryland Virginia is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Maryland Virginia to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Maryland Virginia to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Maryland Virginia in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Maryland Virginia 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.
Training and development
– Maryland Virginia has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Maryland Virginia 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.
High brand equity
– Maryland Virginia has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Maryland Virginia to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Maryland Virginia 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 Sarah Goldthwait Shoemaker, Enver Yucesan 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Maryland Virginia has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Maryland Virginia 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.
Weaknesses Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Maryland Virginia 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Maryland Virginia 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 - Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Maryland Virginia, firm in the HBR case study Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Maryland Virginia is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Maryland Virginia 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. Maryland Virginia 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Maryland Virginia products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Maryland Virginia needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) 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 Maryland Virginia 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A), in the dynamic environment Maryland Virginia has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Maryland Virginia has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) 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 Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Maryland Virginia is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Maryland Virginia 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Maryland Virginia has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Opportunities Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) | 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 Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Maryland Virginia 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Maryland Virginia to increase its market reach. Maryland Virginia 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Maryland Virginia 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, Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Maryland Virginia can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Maryland Virginia operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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. Maryland Virginia 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
– Maryland Virginia can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) 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.
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 Maryland Virginia in the consumer business. Now Maryland Virginia can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Maryland Virginia is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) 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 Maryland Virginia can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Maryland Virginia can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Maryland Virginia 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Maryland Virginia 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 Maryland Virginia to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Maryland Virginia 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 Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A), Maryland Virginia 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 .
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
– Maryland Virginia 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Maryland Virginia 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 Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) .
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. Maryland Virginia can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Maryland Virginia in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
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 Maryland Virginia in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Maryland Virginia
– 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 Maryland Virginia.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Maryland Virginia demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Maryland Virginia 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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Maryland Virginia is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Maryland Virginia.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) 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 Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) 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 Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) 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 Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) 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 Managing Risk to Ensure Business Continuity at Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (A) 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 Maryland Virginia needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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