Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries
In 2011, Sudarshan Chemical Industries Limited, a global pigment company with sales in over 40 countries, was poised to become one of the top four pigment producers in the world. The vice-chairman was about to meet with an external consultant whom he had hired when he assumed leadership of the family business in 2003 following the demise of both the founders - his father and eldest uncle. The agenda of the meeting was to discuss the various initiatives that had been undertaken at Sudarshan since 2003 to systematically professionalize the group. The vice-chairman could not help wondering whether the company was heading in the right direction. Should a family member always be the head of the business? What if the family member being prepared for the leadership role did not gain the acceptance of the family and non-family professionals to lead the business? Authors are affiliated with Indian School of Business, Gachibowli.
Authors :: Kavil Ramachandran, Alexander Matthew, Navneet Bhatnagar
Swot Analysis of "Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries" written by Kavil Ramachandran, Alexander Matthew, Navneet Bhatnagar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sudarshan Pigment facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sudarshan Pigment, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sudarshan Pigment 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 Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sudarshan Pigment
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 Sudarshan Pigment
Strengths Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sudarshan Pigment in Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Sudarshan Pigment
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sudarshan Pigment does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Sudarshan Pigment 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 Sudarshan Pigment is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sudarshan Pigment in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sudarshan Pigment to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sudarshan Pigment to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Sudarshan Pigment 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 Kavil Ramachandran, Alexander Matthew, Navneet Bhatnagar 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Sudarshan Pigment is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Sudarshan Pigment has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sudarshan Pigment to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sudarshan Pigment 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 Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sudarshan Pigment 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sudarshan Pigment in the sector have low bargaining power. Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sudarshan Pigment to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Sudarshan Pigment 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 Sudarshan Pigment in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sudarshan Pigment digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sudarshan Pigment 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.
Weaknesses Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sudarshan Pigment 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries, it seems that the employees of Sudarshan Pigment 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, Sudarshan Pigment 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sudarshan Pigment 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. Sudarshan Pigment 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Sudarshan Pigment 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Sudarshan Pigment, firm in the HBR case study Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries 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 Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sudarshan Pigment is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sudarshan Pigment needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries, in the dynamic environment Sudarshan Pigment has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sudarshan Pigment has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sudarshan Pigment 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries, is just above the industry average. Sudarshan Pigment 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.
Opportunities Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries | 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 Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sudarshan Pigment has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sudarshan Pigment to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries case study. Sudarshan Pigment can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Sudarshan Pigment can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Sudarshan Pigment can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries 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 Sudarshan Pigment to increase its market reach. Sudarshan Pigment 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 Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Sudarshan Pigment can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Sudarshan Pigment in the consumer business. Now Sudarshan Pigment can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Sudarshan Pigment 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sudarshan Pigment can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sudarshan Pigment operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Sudarshan Pigment 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sudarshan Pigment 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 Sudarshan Pigment to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sudarshan Pigment 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sudarshan Pigment 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sudarshan Pigment is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries 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.
Threats Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries are -
Increasing wage structure of Sudarshan Pigment
– 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 Sudarshan Pigment.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Sudarshan Pigment has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sudarshan Pigment 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sudarshan Pigment 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries, Sudarshan Pigment 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sudarshan Pigment is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Sudarshan Pigment 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.
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. Sudarshan Pigment can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Sudarshan Pigment business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sudarshan Pigment 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 Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries .
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Sudarshan Pigment in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Sudarshan Pigment.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sudarshan Pigment with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries 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 Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries 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 Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries 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 Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries 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 Professionalization of Sudarshan Chemical Industries 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 Sudarshan Pigment needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.