RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser
Presents a three-way version of the RetailMax simulation requiring students to enact an internal salary negotiation, taking on the roles of Cam Archer, a star employee, and Regan Kessel, a VP trying to attract the MBA into his department. However, RetailSoft introduces a third party, Sydney Masser, to illustrate the effects of negotiating for self vs. others. A rewritten version of an earlier exercise.
Swot Analysis of "RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser" written by Kathleen L. McGinn includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Masser Retailsoft facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Career planning, Collaboration, Decision making, Developing employees, Executive compensation, Negotiations, Personnel policies, Technology and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Masser Retailsoft, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Masser Retailsoft 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 RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Masser Retailsoft
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 Masser Retailsoft
Strengths RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Masser Retailsoft in RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser 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.
High brand equity
– Masser Retailsoft has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Masser Retailsoft to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Masser Retailsoft in the sector have low bargaining power. RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Masser Retailsoft to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Masser Retailsoft
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Masser Retailsoft does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Masser Retailsoft in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Masser Retailsoft 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 Kathleen L. McGinn 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
– Masser Retailsoft is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Masser Retailsoft 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 Masser Retailsoft 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 Masser Retailsoft digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Masser Retailsoft 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Masser Retailsoft 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Masser Retailsoft 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 RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser - 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
– Masser Retailsoft has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Masser Retailsoft 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.
Weaknesses RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Masser Retailsoft is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Masser Retailsoft needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Masser Retailsoft to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser HBR case study mentions - Masser Retailsoft 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Masser Retailsoft 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser 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 RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Masser Retailsoft is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Masser Retailsoft supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Masser Retailsoft vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser, in the dynamic environment Masser Retailsoft has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Masser Retailsoft has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Masser Retailsoft, firm in the HBR case study RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser, 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Masser Retailsoft 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Masser Retailsoft has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Masser Retailsoft is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser | 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 RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser are -
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 Masser Retailsoft in the consumer business. Now Masser Retailsoft can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Masser Retailsoft 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Masser Retailsoft can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Masser Retailsoft is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Masser Retailsoft 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Masser Retailsoft 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Masser Retailsoft can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Masser Retailsoft can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Masser Retailsoft 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Masser Retailsoft 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 RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Masser Retailsoft to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Masser Retailsoft 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, RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Masser Retailsoft 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Masser Retailsoft 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.
Threats RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser are -
Environmental challenges
– Masser Retailsoft 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. Masser Retailsoft can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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. Masser Retailsoft needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Masser Retailsoft is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Masser Retailsoft 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.
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 Masser Retailsoft business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Masser Retailsoft in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Masser Retailsoft 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.
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. Masser Retailsoft can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Masser Retailsoft 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Masser Retailsoft 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Masser Retailsoft with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Masser Retailsoft has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Masser Retailsoft 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 RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser 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 RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser 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 RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser 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 RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser 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 RetailSoft: Role for Sydney Masser 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 Masser Retailsoft needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
