Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A)
As a child, Al Fuller had seen his working-class, African-American neighborhood disintegrate as factory jobs moved away. He resolved to help inner-city communities do better when he grew up. Some years later, as an accomplished university graduate with several years manufacturing experience, he embarked on a scheme to take over and revitalize first one, then another, corrugated box plant. These plants were plagued by inefficiency, poor quality control, and tense labor relations. Using his understanding of inner-city life, Fuller employed discipline-based strategies to empower his employees and turn the failing plants into engines of community revitalization.
Swot Analysis of "Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A)" written by Herman B. Leonard, Orson Watson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Fuller Plants facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Developing employees, Economic development, Race, Social responsibility and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, technology disruption,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Fuller Plants, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Fuller Plants 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 Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Fuller Plants
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 Fuller Plants
Strengths Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Fuller Plants in Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Fuller Plants 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Fuller Plants in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Fuller Plants digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Fuller Plants 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
– Fuller Plants is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Fuller Plants 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 Fuller Plants is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Fuller Plants has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Fuller Plants is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) 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
– Fuller Plants has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Fuller Plants to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Fuller Plants is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Fuller Plants has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Fuller Plants 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Fuller Plants has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Fuller Plants 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 Fuller Plants in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Fuller Plants needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) 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 Fuller Plants has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Fuller Plants 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A), in the dynamic environment Fuller Plants has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Fuller Plants has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Fuller Plants is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) 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 Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Fuller Plants 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 Fuller Plants supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Fuller Plants vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Fuller Plants is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Fuller Plants needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Fuller Plants to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Fuller Plants, firm in the HBR case study Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) HBR case study mentions - Fuller Plants 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A), it seems that the employees of Fuller Plants 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.
Opportunities Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) | 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 Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Fuller Plants 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, Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Fuller Plants 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Fuller Plants 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.
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 Fuller Plants in the consumer business. Now Fuller Plants can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Fuller Plants is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Fuller Plants 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.
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. Fuller Plants can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Fuller Plants 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. Fuller Plants 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Fuller Plants 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Fuller Plants has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Fuller Plants to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) case study. Fuller Plants can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Fuller Plants can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Fuller Plants 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 Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Fuller Plants to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Fuller Plants can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Fuller Plants is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Fuller Plants can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Fuller Plants 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Fuller Plants 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 Fuller Plants in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Fuller Plants 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Fuller Plants 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 Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) .
Environmental challenges
– Fuller Plants 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. Fuller Plants can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Fuller Plants 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Fuller Plants 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.
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 Fuller Plants business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) 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 Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) 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 Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) 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 Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) 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 Integrated Packaging Corp.: Struggling to Do the Right Thing (A) 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 Fuller Plants needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
