Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce
In 2014, the chief executive officer (CEO) and owner of Pak Sweets was worried about diversity issues in his organization. The sweets-making factory, once a one-room business and now a full-fledged factory in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, was highly dependent on blue-collar workers. Each production process required workers with diverse skills, so the company hired employees from different provinces of Pakistan, representing multiple ethnicities. The ethnicities were fundamentally diverse with different languages, cultures, and codes of conduct. As the company grew, conflicts increased between employees of different ethnicities. This everyday minor problem turned into a major challenge when it caused property damage, financial losses, and a decline in productivity. Pak Sweets was unable to meet demand, and the company's reputation was at stake. The CEO believed that firing the troublemakers was not an option; it would only address the problem temporarily and might result in union strikes and lockouts. The CEO needed a plan to resolve the ethnic-based conflicts in the factory and their negative impact on the company. Maria Khan is affiliated with National University of Sciences and Technology. Zunaira Saqib is affiliated with National University of Sciences and Technology. Nataliya Farrukh is affiliated with National University of Sciences and Technology. Fatima Tanvir is affiliated with National University of Sciences and Technology. Kahaf Pasha is affiliated with National University of Sciences and Technology.
Authors :: Maria Khan, Zunaira Saqib, Nataliya Farrukh, Fatima Tanvir
Swot Analysis of "Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce" written by Maria Khan, Zunaira Saqib, Nataliya Farrukh, Fatima Tanvir includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sweets Ethnicities facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Diversity, Manufacturing and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sweets Ethnicities, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sweets Ethnicities 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 Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sweets Ethnicities
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 Sweets Ethnicities
Strengths Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sweets Ethnicities in Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Sweets Ethnicities is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sweets Ethnicities to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sweets Ethnicities to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Sweets Ethnicities 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 Maria Khan, Zunaira Saqib, Nataliya Farrukh, Fatima Tanvir 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
– Sweets Ethnicities has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sweets Ethnicities 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.
Organizational Resilience of Sweets Ethnicities
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sweets Ethnicities 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 Sweets Ethnicities in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Sweets Ethnicities 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 Sweets Ethnicities in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sweets Ethnicities is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sweets Ethnicities in the sector have low bargaining power. Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sweets Ethnicities to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sweets Ethnicities 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 Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sweets Ethnicities has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sweets Ethnicities 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 Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce 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 Sweets Ethnicities has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Maria Khan, Zunaira Saqib, Nataliya Farrukh, Fatima Tanvir suggests that, Sweets Ethnicities is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Sweets Ethnicities has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sweets Ethnicities products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sweets Ethnicities needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce 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 Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sweets Ethnicities is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sweets Ethnicities 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 Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce, is just above the industry average. Sweets Ethnicities 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sweets Ethnicities 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. Sweets Ethnicities 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Sweets Ethnicities 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sweets Ethnicities is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Sweets Ethnicities needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sweets Ethnicities to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sweets Ethnicities 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.
Opportunities Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce | 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 Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Sweets Ethnicities 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. Sweets Ethnicities 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.
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 Sweets Ethnicities 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sweets Ethnicities can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sweets Ethnicities can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sweets Ethnicities operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sweets Ethnicities to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Sweets Ethnicities to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sweets Ethnicities is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sweets Ethnicities 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 Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sweets Ethnicities to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sweets Ethnicities 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sweets Ethnicities to increase its market reach. Sweets Ethnicities will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
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. Sweets Ethnicities can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Sweets Ethnicities 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sweets Ethnicities has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sweets Ethnicities to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce case study. Sweets Ethnicities can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Sweets Ethnicities can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce are -
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 Sweets Ethnicities business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sweets Ethnicities 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Sweets Ethnicities 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.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Sweets Ethnicities
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Sweets Ethnicities.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sweets Ethnicities 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sweets Ethnicities 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 Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce, Sweets Ethnicities 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 .
Environmental challenges
– Sweets Ethnicities 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. Sweets Ethnicities can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sweets Ethnicities with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Sweets Ethnicities.
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. Sweets Ethnicities needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce 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 Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce 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 Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce 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 Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce 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 Pak Sweets: Managing a Diverse Workforce 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 Sweets Ethnicities needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.