Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version
When students have the English-language PDF of this Brief Case in a coursepack, they will also have the option to purchase an audio version.Clayton Industries, a sixty-year-old U.S.-based firm in the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) industry, with nearly $1 billion in revenues, has gradually built a presence in a number of countries, including several in Europe. Peter Arnell, previously Clayton's successful country manager for the U.K., has been asked to take over the Italian subsidiary, which has recently been struggling on several fronts. Arnell must juggle the strategic objectives of his manager (the head of Clayton Europe) and of the firm's Wisconsin-based CEO while overseeing the day-to-day activities of the business in this new setting. Many of Arnell's challenges derive from his dual responsibilities of handling manufacturing as well as sales of Clayton products in his new home country.
Authors :: Christopher A. Bartlett, Benjamin H. Barlow
Swot Analysis of "Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version" written by Christopher A. Bartlett, Benjamin H. Barlow includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Arnell Clayton facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Cross-cultural management, Labor, Leadership, Organizational culture, Organizational structure, Project management, Sales, Strategy execution and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version casestudy better are - – technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Arnell Clayton, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Arnell Clayton 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 Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Arnell Clayton
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 Arnell Clayton
Strengths Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Arnell Clayton in Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Arnell Clayton is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Arnell Clayton has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Arnell Clayton 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 Arnell Clayton in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Arnell Clayton in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Arnell Clayton has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Arnell Clayton to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Arnell Clayton in the sector have low bargaining power. Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Arnell Clayton to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Arnell Clayton 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 Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Arnell Clayton 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 Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version - 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
– Arnell Clayton has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Arnell Clayton 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Arnell Clayton digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Arnell Clayton 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.
Learning organization
- Arnell Clayton 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 Arnell Clayton is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version, in the dynamic environment Arnell Clayton has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Arnell Clayton has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version 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 Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Arnell Clayton is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Arnell Clayton 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.
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 Arnell Clayton supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Arnell Clayton vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Arnell Clayton products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Arnell Clayton 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 Arnell Clayton, firm in the HBR case study Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Christopher A. Bartlett, Benjamin H. Barlow suggests that, Arnell Clayton 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version HBR case study mentions - Arnell Clayton 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Arnell Clayton 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version 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 Arnell Clayton 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Arnell Clayton 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.
Opportunities Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version | 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 Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Arnell Clayton 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Arnell Clayton 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Arnell Clayton 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Arnell Clayton 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 Arnell Clayton to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Arnell Clayton 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Arnell Clayton can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Arnell Clayton operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Arnell Clayton is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Arnell Clayton 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
– Arnell Clayton can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version 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.
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. Arnell Clayton can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Arnell Clayton can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Arnell Clayton to increase its market reach. Arnell Clayton 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Arnell Clayton 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, Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version are -
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Arnell Clayton 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
– Arnell Clayton 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. Arnell Clayton can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Arnell Clayton has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Arnell Clayton 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Arnell Clayton 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.
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.
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 Arnell Clayton.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Arnell Clayton 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 Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version .
Increasing wage structure of Arnell Clayton
– 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 Arnell Clayton.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Arnell Clayton 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version, Arnell Clayton 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 .
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 Arnell Clayton business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Arnell Clayton 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 Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version 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 Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version 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 Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version 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 Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version 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 Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case), Chinese Version 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 Arnell Clayton needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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