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Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont


At the Benedictine monastery of Admont in Austria, which had been economically active for over 940 years, the monks tended to think in centuries rather than quarters. However, the monastery's business director needed to make a decision in a much shorter timeframe. The monastery employed approximately 600 people in its forestry, wine-growing, energy, real estate, services, and industrial businesses. Its largest subsidiary, an industrial manufacturer of wooden floorboards, was faced with severe challenges in 2015, including highly fluctuating demand and a growing pressure on margins due to low-cost competition from Asia. The business director had to decide how to proceed with the loss-making company, bearing in mind his responsibility towards the monastery and its higher purposes (such as providing pastoral care and fostering regional development through the creation of jobs). Dietmar Sternad is affiliated with Carinthia University of Applied Sciences.

Authors :: Dietmar Sternad

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Leadership, Manufacturing, Social responsibility, Strategy, Sustainability, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont" written by Dietmar Sternad includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Monastery Admont facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Manufacturing, Social responsibility, Strategy, Sustainability and Leadership & Managing People.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Monastery Admont, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Monastery Admont 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 Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Monastery Admont
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 Monastery Admont




Strengths Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Monastery Admont in Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont Harvard Business Review case study are -

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry

– Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Monastery Admont to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Monastery Admont to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Monastery Admont 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.

Training and development

– Monastery Admont has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont 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

– Monastery Admont is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Monastery Admont 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Monastery Admont 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 Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Learning organization

- Monastery Admont 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 Monastery Admont is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Monastery Admont has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Monastery Admont 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Monastery Admont 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 Monastery Admont digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Monastery Admont 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont 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.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Monastery Admont 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 Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont - 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 Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont are -

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Dietmar Sternad suggests that, Monastery Admont 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.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont 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 Monastery Admont has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Monastery Admont, firm in the HBR case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Monastery Admont 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 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 Monastery Admont supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Monastery Admont vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Lack of clear differentiation of Monastery Admont products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Monastery Admont needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Monastery Admont 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, it seems that the employees of Monastery Admont 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Monastery Admont is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Monastery Admont needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Monastery Admont to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, in the dynamic environment Monastery Admont has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Monastery Admont has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.




Opportunities Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont | 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 Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont are -

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Monastery Admont to increase its market reach. Monastery Admont 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.

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 Monastery Admont 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Monastery Admont 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, Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Monastery Admont 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 Monastery Admont to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

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. Monastery Admont 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. Monastery Admont 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Monastery Admont 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.

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. Monastery Admont can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Monastery Admont 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 Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Monastery Admont to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Buying journey improvements

– Monastery Admont can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Monastery Admont 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Monastery Admont 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.

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. Monastery Admont can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Monastery Admont can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Monastery Admont operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.




Threats Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont are -

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, Monastery Admont 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 .

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Monastery Admont 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 Monastery Admont in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Monastery Admont 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Monastery Admont 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.

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. Monastery Admont can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Instability in the European markets

– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Monastery Admont 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Monastery Admont 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 Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont .

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Monastery Admont has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Monastery Admont 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Monastery Admont is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Environmental challenges

– Monastery Admont 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. Monastery Admont can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.

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 Monastery Admont.

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. Monastery Admont 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 Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont 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 Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont 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 Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont 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 Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont 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 Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont 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 Monastery Admont needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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