General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A)
Examines the role of General Mills in the formation and leadership of the Hawthorne Huddle. The Huddle was in the Hawthorne neighborhood in Northern Minneapolis, which in 1997 was plagued with high crime and poverty. The Huddle served as a forum, held the first Thursday of every month. Its goal was to improve the livability of the Hawthorne neighborhood by pooling the resources, experiences, and perspectives of residents, educators, law enforcement, business and social service professionals, elected officials, and members of the faith community. It discussed, and focused on solving, problems affecting the community. In late 2002, it faced the retirement of its leader, Reatha King, former president and now chair of the General Mills Foundation, who was revered throughout the community. General Mills and the Huddle were focused on developing a transition plan and new leadership model for the Huddle.
Authors :: Diana Barrett, Sheila McCarthy Leddy
Topics :: Leadership & Managing People
Tags :: Social enterprise, Social responsibility, Succession planning, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A)" written by Diana Barrett, Sheila McCarthy Leddy includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Huddle Hawthorne facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social enterprise, Social responsibility, Succession planning and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Huddle Hawthorne, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Huddle Hawthorne 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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Huddle Hawthorne
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 Huddle Hawthorne
Strengths General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Huddle Hawthorne in General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Huddle Hawthorne 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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Huddle Hawthorne has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Huddle Hawthorne is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Huddle Hawthorne in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Huddle Hawthorne is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Huddle Hawthorne in the sector have low bargaining power. General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Huddle Hawthorne to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Huddle Hawthorne to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Huddle Hawthorne to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Huddle Hawthorne digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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 Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Huddle Hawthorne 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 Huddle Hawthorne in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Huddle Hawthorne
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Huddle Hawthorne does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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 Huddle Hawthorne 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Huddle Hawthorne, firm in the HBR case study General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A), in the dynamic environment Huddle Hawthorne has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Huddle Hawthorne has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Huddle Hawthorne is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Huddle Hawthorne needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Huddle Hawthorne to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Huddle Hawthorne 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.
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 Huddle Hawthorne supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Huddle Hawthorne vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Huddle Hawthorne is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Huddle Hawthorne 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, Huddle Hawthorne can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Huddle Hawthorne operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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 Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Huddle Hawthorne has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Huddle Hawthorne to increase its market reach. Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Huddle Hawthorne has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Huddle Hawthorne to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) case study. Huddle Hawthorne can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Huddle Hawthorne is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Huddle Hawthorne 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.
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. Huddle Hawthorne can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Threats General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Huddle Hawthorne with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Huddle Hawthorne needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Huddle Hawthorne 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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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. Huddle Hawthorne can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Huddle Hawthorne 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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Huddle Hawthorne has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Huddle Hawthorne needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Huddle Hawthorne is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A), Huddle Hawthorne 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Environmental challenges
– Huddle Hawthorne 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. Huddle Hawthorne can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Huddle Hawthorne.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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 Huddle Hawthorne needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.