Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance
In 2005, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, CEO and chairman of the Carlson Companies, must decide whether to outsource jobs at the risk of destroying the culture centered on the values of integrity, trustworthiness, and caring that she had painstakingly created since becoming CEO of the family-owned company. Profiles the leadership development of the protagonist, tracing her career in business and civic associations, her youth and education, her leadership education, and her values and aspirations. Provides information on the business and history of Carlson Companies, including its company culture and management. Raises questions about the consequences of leadership decisions and the durability of company cultures.
Swot Analysis of "Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance" written by William W. George, Andrew N. McLean includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Carlson Marilyn facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Informal leadership, Leadership, Motivating people, Operations management, Organizational culture, Social responsibility and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Carlson Marilyn, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Carlson Marilyn 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 Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Carlson Marilyn
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 Carlson Marilyn
Strengths Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Carlson Marilyn in Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Carlson Marilyn is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance 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
– Carlson Marilyn 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 Carlson Marilyn 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 Carlson Marilyn 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.
High brand equity
– Carlson Marilyn has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Carlson Marilyn to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Carlson Marilyn in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Carlson Marilyn 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 William W. George, Andrew N. McLean 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.
Training and development
– Carlson Marilyn has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Carlson Marilyn has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Carlson Marilyn 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Carlson Marilyn is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Carlson Marilyn in the sector have low bargaining power. Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Carlson Marilyn to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Carlson Marilyn 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 Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance HBR case study mentions - Carlson Marilyn 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Carlson Marilyn, firm in the HBR case study Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance, 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Carlson Marilyn is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Carlson Marilyn 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance, is just above the industry average. Carlson Marilyn needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Need for greater diversity
– Carlson Marilyn 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, Carlson Marilyn 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Carlson Marilyn has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Carlson Marilyn supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Carlson Marilyn vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance 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 Carlson Marilyn 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance | 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 Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Carlson Marilyn is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Carlson Marilyn can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Carlson Marilyn 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Carlson Marilyn can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance 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.
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. Carlson Marilyn can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Carlson Marilyn 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.
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. Carlson Marilyn 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. Carlson Marilyn 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Carlson Marilyn 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 Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Carlson Marilyn to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Carlson Marilyn 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Carlson Marilyn 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.
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 Carlson Marilyn in the consumer business. Now Carlson Marilyn can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Carlson Marilyn 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Carlson Marilyn has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Carlson Marilyn to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance case study. Carlson Marilyn can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Carlson Marilyn 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 Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance .
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Carlson Marilyn 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 Carlson Marilyn 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
– Carlson Marilyn 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.
Environmental challenges
– Carlson Marilyn 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. Carlson Marilyn can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance, Carlson Marilyn may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Carlson Marilyn 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. Carlson Marilyn needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Carlson Marilyn has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Carlson Marilyn 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.
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 Carlson Marilyn in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline 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. Carlson Marilyn can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Carlson Marilyn business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance 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 Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance 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 Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance 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 Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance 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 Marilyn Carlson Nelson and the Carlson Companies' Renaissance 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 Carlson Marilyn needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
