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 - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, 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 -
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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Huddle Hawthorne is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
High brand equity
– Huddle Hawthorne has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Huddle Hawthorne to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Huddle Hawthorne 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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
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.
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.
Learning organization
- Huddle Hawthorne 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 Huddle Hawthorne is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Huddle Hawthorne 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.
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.
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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Huddle Hawthorne is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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.
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.
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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A), it seems that the employees of Huddle Hawthorne 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Huddle Hawthorne products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Huddle Hawthorne needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A) HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Huddle Hawthorne has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
Buying journey improvements
– Huddle Hawthorne can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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.
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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Huddle Hawthorne can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Huddle Hawthorne 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 Huddle Hawthorne to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Huddle Hawthorne 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, General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
Increasing wage structure of Huddle Hawthorne
– 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 Huddle Hawthorne.
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.
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 .
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.
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.
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.
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) .
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.
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. Huddle Hawthorne 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.
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 Huddle Hawthorne business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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 Huddle Hawthorne.
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.
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.
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.