Case Study Description of Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A)
This case series involves a crisis in business ethics and management decision making, when one of the company's diesel fuel storage tanks collapses, releasing nearly one million gallons of oil into the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers. Divided into four cases guiding the reader through the sequence of events as they occur and their eventual repercussion on the company. The cases involve formulating a corporate response to the accident, the communities affected, government agencies and other corporate stakeholders. This case concentrates on the hours immediately following the spill and identifies key issues as they emerge. These facts influence how the CEO will address the public in his first statement three days later.
Authors :: Kenneth E. Goodpaster, Anne K. Delehunt
Topics :: Communication
Tags :: Conflict, Crisis management, Ethics, Public relations, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A)" written by Kenneth E. Goodpaster, Anne K. Delehunt includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Monongahela Repercussion facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Conflict, Crisis management, Ethics, Public relations, Social responsibility and Communication.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Monongahela Repercussion, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Monongahela Repercussion 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 Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Monongahela Repercussion
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Communication field.
4. Making a Communication topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Monongahela Repercussion
Strengths Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Monongahela Repercussion in Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Monongahela Repercussion is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Monongahela Repercussion
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Monongahela Repercussion does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Monongahela Repercussion is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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.
Training and development
– Monongahela Repercussion has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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.
Learning organization
- Monongahela Repercussion 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 Monongahela Repercussion is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Monongahela Repercussion has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Monongahela Repercussion to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Monongahela Repercussion in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Communication segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Monongahela Repercussion digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Monongahela Repercussion 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Monongahela Repercussion in the sector have low bargaining power. Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Monongahela Repercussion to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Monongahela Repercussion 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)
– Monongahela Repercussion 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 Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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.
Weaknesses Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A), it seems that the employees of Monongahela Repercussion 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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 Monongahela Repercussion 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Monongahela Repercussion is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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 to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) HBR case study mentions - Monongahela Repercussion takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Monongahela Repercussion 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Monongahela Repercussion is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Communication segment. Monongahela Repercussion needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Monongahela Repercussion to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Communication strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Need for greater diversity
– Monongahela Repercussion 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Monongahela Repercussion products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Monongahela Repercussion needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Monongahela Repercussion, firm in the HBR case study Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Monongahela Repercussion 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 - Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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 Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Monongahela Repercussion 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 Communication segment.
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 Monongahela Repercussion 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Monongahela Repercussion 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Monongahela Repercussion 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 Monongahela Repercussion to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Monongahela Repercussion 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Monongahela Repercussion 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, Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Monongahela Repercussion is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Communication industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Monongahela Repercussion can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Monongahela Repercussion can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Monongahela Repercussion has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Monongahela Repercussion to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) case study. Monongahela Repercussion can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Monongahela Repercussion can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Monongahela Repercussion to increase its market reach. Monongahela Repercussion 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Communication industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Monongahela Repercussion can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Monongahela Repercussion can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (A) are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Monongahela Repercussion 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.
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 Monongahela Repercussion business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Communication field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Monongahela Repercussion can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Monongahela Repercussion 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 Communication 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. Monongahela Repercussion needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Communication industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Monongahela Repercussion 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. Monongahela Repercussion can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Communication industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Monongahela Repercussion with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Monongahela Repercussion is facing in Communication 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 Monongahela Repercussion.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Monongahela Repercussion has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Communication industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Monongahela Repercussion needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Communication 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Monongahela Repercussion 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.
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. Monongahela Repercussion 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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 Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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 Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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 Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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 Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (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 Monongahela Repercussion needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
