Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation
Middleby Corporation was a designer and manufacturer of commercial food processing and food service equipment for fast food as well as high-end restaurants. During the latter half of the 1990s, Middleby became increasingly unfocused as its number of product lines increased dramatically. Margins and sales slipped. At the same time, some of the company's high-profile product development initiatives ended in failure. Although Middleby's top management recognized some of these apparent warning signs, rather than take action, they seemed eager to blame the disappointing results solely on the company's overseas operations. This inaction caused Middleby's financial performance to deteriorate further, resulting in violations of its loan covenants. To finally correct the situation, Selim Bassoul was moved from his role as general manager of Middleby's Southbend plant up to chief operating officer for the entire corporation. Bassoul had taken the underperforming Southbend plant and turned it into a star performer, correcting and improving customer service, operations, and finances and establishing a clear strategic direction. Bassoul had to craft a turnaround plan for the entire company in the areas of strategy, operations, and finance. He cut the number of products substantially, fired some key customers after a customer profitability analysis, and focused product development on innovative products that saved Middleby's customers time and money. Following these changes and others, the company returned to profitability and Bassoul was named CEO. Bassoul then decided to present a major acquisition opportunity to the board of directors.
Swot Analysis of "Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation" written by James Shein, Evan Meagher includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bassoul Middleby's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Customers, Entrepreneurship, Financial management, Innovation, International business, Manufacturing, Mergers & acquisitions, Motivating people, Risk management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bassoul Middleby's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bassoul Middleby's 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 Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bassoul Middleby's
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 Bassoul Middleby's
Strengths Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bassoul Middleby's in Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Bassoul Middleby's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation 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.
Learning organization
- Bassoul Middleby's 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 Bassoul Middleby's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Bassoul Middleby's 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 James Shein, Evan Meagher 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bassoul Middleby's 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 Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Bassoul Middleby's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bassoul Middleby's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Bassoul Middleby's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bassoul Middleby's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bassoul Middleby's 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 Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bassoul Middleby's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bassoul Middleby's 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bassoul Middleby's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bassoul Middleby's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation 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
– Bassoul Middleby's 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 lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Bassoul Middleby's 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 Bassoul Middleby's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bassoul Middleby's 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. Bassoul Middleby's 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bassoul Middleby's, firm in the HBR case study Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation, it seems that the employees of Bassoul Middleby's 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Bassoul Middleby's 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 Bassoul Middleby's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bassoul Middleby's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, James Shein, Evan Meagher suggests that, Bassoul Middleby's 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bassoul Middleby's 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation, in the dynamic environment Bassoul Middleby's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bassoul Middleby's 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, Bassoul Middleby's 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation, is just above the industry average. Bassoul Middleby's needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation 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 Bassoul Middleby's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation | 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 Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation are -
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 Bassoul Middleby's in the consumer business. Now Bassoul Middleby's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bassoul Middleby's 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 Bassoul Middleby's 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Bassoul Middleby's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation 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 Bassoul Middleby's 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bassoul Middleby's 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, Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Bassoul Middleby's 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bassoul Middleby's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bassoul Middleby's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation case study. Bassoul Middleby's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bassoul Middleby's 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bassoul Middleby's 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bassoul Middleby's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bassoul Middleby's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bassoul Middleby's 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. Bassoul Middleby's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bassoul Middleby's is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Bassoul Middleby's 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. Bassoul Middleby's 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 Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation, Bassoul Middleby's 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 .
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. Bassoul Middleby's 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.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bassoul Middleby's 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bassoul Middleby's 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 Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bassoul Middleby's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bassoul Middleby's high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bassoul Middleby's 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.
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 Bassoul Middleby's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Bassoul Middleby's needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation 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 Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation 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 Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation 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 Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation 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 Leading Corporate Renewal: Selim Bassoul at Middleby Corporation 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 Bassoul Middleby's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
