Describes the challenges Steve Grossman, a fourth-generation owner of a small commercial printing company, must face amid industry consolidation, technological changes, and his own run for public office.
Authors :: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Brooke Bartletta, Michelle A. Heskett
Swot Analysis of "MassEnvelopePlus" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Brooke Bartletta, Michelle A. Heskett includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Massenvelopeplus Grossman facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in MassEnvelopePlus case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Operations management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the MassEnvelopePlus casestudy better are - – technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in MassEnvelopePlus case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Massenvelopeplus Grossman, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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 MassEnvelopePlus can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in MassEnvelopePlus case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Massenvelopeplus Grossman
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 Massenvelopeplus Grossman
Strengths MassEnvelopePlus | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Massenvelopeplus Grossman in MassEnvelopePlus Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the MassEnvelopePlus are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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 Massenvelopeplus Grossman in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in MassEnvelopePlus Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– MassEnvelopePlus firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Massenvelopeplus Grossman to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Massenvelopeplus Grossman to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in MassEnvelopePlus 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in MassEnvelopePlus 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Massenvelopeplus Grossman in the sector have low bargaining power. MassEnvelopePlus has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Massenvelopeplus Grossman to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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 MassEnvelopePlus - 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 brand equity
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Massenvelopeplus Grossman to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Massenvelopeplus Grossman digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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 MassEnvelopePlus | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of MassEnvelopePlus are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Massenvelopeplus Grossman is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Massenvelopeplus Grossman needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Massenvelopeplus Grossman to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Massenvelopeplus Grossman supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - MassEnvelopePlus, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Massenvelopeplus Grossman vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study MassEnvelopePlus 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 MassEnvelopePlus can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Massenvelopeplus Grossman is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Massenvelopeplus Grossman has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study MassEnvelopePlus 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 Massenvelopeplus Grossman 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study MassEnvelopePlus, 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As MassEnvelopePlus HBR case study mentions - Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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
Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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 MassEnvelopePlus | 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 MassEnvelopePlus are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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. Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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 Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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 Massenvelopeplus Grossman to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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 Massenvelopeplus Grossman to increase its market reach. Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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 MassEnvelopePlus - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Massenvelopeplus Grossman to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Massenvelopeplus Grossman is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. MassEnvelopePlus 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.
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 Massenvelopeplus Grossman in the consumer business. Now Massenvelopeplus Grossman can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Massenvelopeplus Grossman can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. MassEnvelopePlus 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.
Threats MassEnvelopePlus External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study MassEnvelopePlus are -
Regulatory challenges
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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.
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 Massenvelopeplus Grossman business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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. Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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 MassEnvelopePlus .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Massenvelopeplus Grossman is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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.
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. Massenvelopeplus Grossman can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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 Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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.
Increasing wage structure of Massenvelopeplus Grossman
– 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 Massenvelopeplus Grossman.
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 Massenvelopeplus Grossman.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Massenvelopeplus Grossman 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of MassEnvelopePlus 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 MassEnvelopePlus 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 MassEnvelopePlus 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 MassEnvelopePlus 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 MassEnvelopePlus 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 Massenvelopeplus Grossman needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.