Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment
Ruffian Kelowna, one of 19 British Columbia Ruffian Apparel locations, is under performing. Recent management turnover and low unemployment in the region have left Kelowna short-staffed and in need of a new store manager to take over for the interim manager. Both sales and performance results are far below acceptable levels, and the store appears to be floundering. The newly hired B.C. regional manager for Ruffian Apparel is looking into the problem and needs to report back to Vancouver with his recommendations. This case can be used to demonstrate how different theories of motivation might apply to goal-setting and compensation plans. The case illustrates how an inappropriate or poorly structured compensation plan and motivational goals can lead to ineffective and detrimental results. Students who immediately attribute the problems of the case to the lack of a store manager will fail to explore the potential for increasing employee motivation and productivity across the board.
Swot Analysis of "Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment" written by Kevin Hewins, Ann C. Frost includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ruffian Kelowna facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Motivating people and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ruffian Kelowna, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ruffian Kelowna 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 Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ruffian Kelowna
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 Ruffian Kelowna
Strengths Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ruffian Kelowna in Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Ruffian Kelowna 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 Ruffian Kelowna is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ruffian Kelowna is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ruffian Kelowna 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 Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Ruffian Kelowna has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment 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
– Ruffian Kelowna is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ruffian Kelowna 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ruffian Kelowna in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Ruffian Kelowna 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 Kevin Hewins, Ann C. Frost 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ruffian Kelowna digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ruffian Kelowna 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Ruffian Kelowna 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
– Ruffian Kelowna 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 Ruffian Kelowna in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ruffian Kelowna 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.
Weaknesses Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment 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 Ruffian Kelowna 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment, in the dynamic environment Ruffian Kelowna has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ruffian Kelowna has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ruffian Kelowna 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ruffian Kelowna is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ruffian Kelowna 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
– Ruffian Kelowna 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment 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 Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ruffian Kelowna is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment, it seems that the employees of Ruffian Kelowna 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ruffian Kelowna 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. Ruffian Kelowna 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ruffian Kelowna 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment, 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.
Opportunities Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment | 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 Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ruffian Kelowna can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ruffian Kelowna operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ruffian Kelowna can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ruffian Kelowna 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ruffian Kelowna can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ruffian Kelowna is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Ruffian Kelowna can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ruffian Kelowna 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
– Ruffian Kelowna can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment 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.
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. Ruffian Kelowna 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. Ruffian Kelowna 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ruffian Kelowna 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.
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 Ruffian Kelowna 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.
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 Ruffian Kelowna in the consumer business. Now Ruffian Kelowna can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Ruffian Kelowna 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 Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ruffian Kelowna to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ruffian Kelowna 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.
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 Ruffian Kelowna in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ruffian Kelowna 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.
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. Ruffian Kelowna needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ruffian Kelowna with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Ruffian Kelowna 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ruffian Kelowna has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ruffian Kelowna 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.
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 Ruffian Kelowna.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ruffian Kelowna 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.
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.
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. Ruffian Kelowna 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 Ruffian Kelowna 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ruffian Kelowna 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 Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment 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 Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment 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 Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment 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 Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment 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 Kyle Evans at Ruffian Apparel: Staffing a Retail Establishment 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 Ruffian Kelowna needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
