Swot Analysis of "Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B)" written by Robert D. Landel, Rebecca Goldberg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Uv5984 Southeastern facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Project management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Uv5984 Southeastern, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Uv5984 Southeastern 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 Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Uv5984 Southeastern
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 Uv5984 Southeastern
Strengths Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Uv5984 Southeastern in Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Uv5984 Southeastern
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Uv5984 Southeastern does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Uv5984 Southeastern is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Uv5984 Southeastern 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.
High brand equity
– Uv5984 Southeastern has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Uv5984 Southeastern to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Uv5984 Southeastern has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Uv5984 Southeastern 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Uv5984 Southeastern 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 Uv5984 Southeastern in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Uv5984 Southeastern in the sector have low bargaining power. Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Uv5984 Southeastern to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Uv5984 Southeastern are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Training and development
– Uv5984 Southeastern has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Uv5984 Southeastern 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 Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Uv5984 Southeastern 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 Robert D. Landel, Rebecca Goldberg 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.
Weaknesses Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B), in the dynamic environment Uv5984 Southeastern has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Uv5984 Southeastern has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Uv5984 Southeastern is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Uv5984 Southeastern needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Uv5984 Southeastern to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robert D. Landel, Rebecca Goldberg suggests that, Uv5984 Southeastern 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Uv5984 Southeastern 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 - Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) 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 Uv5984 Southeastern 's lucrative customers.
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 Uv5984 Southeastern supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Uv5984 Southeastern vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) 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 Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Uv5984 Southeastern is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Uv5984 Southeastern 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Uv5984 Southeastern 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B), it seems that the employees of Uv5984 Southeastern 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.
Opportunities Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) | 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 Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Uv5984 Southeastern 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Uv5984 Southeastern 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Uv5984 Southeastern can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Uv5984 Southeastern has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Uv5984 Southeastern to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Uv5984 Southeastern is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) 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.
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. Uv5984 Southeastern can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Uv5984 Southeastern 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Uv5984 Southeastern 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Uv5984 Southeastern has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Uv5984 Southeastern to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) case study. Uv5984 Southeastern can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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, Uv5984 Southeastern can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Uv5984 Southeastern operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Uv5984 Southeastern 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, Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Uv5984 Southeastern 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Uv5984 Southeastern can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Uv5984 Southeastern 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.
Environmental challenges
– Uv5984 Southeastern 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. Uv5984 Southeastern 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 Uv5984 Southeastern.
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. Uv5984 Southeastern needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Uv5984 Southeastern 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.
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. Uv5984 Southeastern can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Uv5984 Southeastern is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Uv5984 Southeastern 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Uv5984 Southeastern 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 Uv5984 Southeastern business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Uv5984 Southeastern can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Uv5984 Southeastern has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Uv5984 Southeastern 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) 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 Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) 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 Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) 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 Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) 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 Southeastern Mills: The Improvement Journey (B) 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 Uv5984 Southeastern needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.