Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014
In May 2014, the newly installed director of global operations for Montana Plastic's Shelby Division, a producer of plastic gasoline tanks for global automotive brands such as General Motors, Ford and Toyota, is trying to turn the division around as it is suffering waste rates of 30 per cent. At the same time, topline growth is slowing dramatically, profitability is dropping, competition from Asia-based companies is heating up and employee turnover, at 25 per cent of the workforce, is the highest it has ever been. The company, based in Helena, Montana, is underperforming after years of growth: it had seen tenfold revenue increases over the past decade. Aware that he does not have an engineering degree or any experience running manufacturing plants, the director needs to assess the situation carefully. He is plotting out what he has to do in the next few months to turn the company's fortunes around.
Swot Analysis of "Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014" written by Christopher Williams, Ken Mark includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Montana Shelby facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Human resource management, Leadership, Manufacturing, Organizational culture, Strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Montana Shelby, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Montana Shelby 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 Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Montana Shelby
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 Montana Shelby
Strengths Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Montana Shelby in Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Montana Shelby has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Montana Shelby to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Montana Shelby is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 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 Montana Shelby 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.
Training and development
– Montana Shelby has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 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.
Organizational Resilience of Montana Shelby
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Montana Shelby does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Montana Shelby 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 Christopher Williams, Ken Mark can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Montana Shelby digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Montana Shelby 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Montana Shelby is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 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
– Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Montana Shelby to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Montana Shelby to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Montana Shelby 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Montana Shelby is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 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
– Montana Shelby has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Montana Shelby 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 Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 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 Montana Shelby has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Montana Shelby 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 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 Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Montana Shelby is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Montana Shelby, firm in the HBR case study Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Montana Shelby 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 HBR case study mentions - Montana Shelby 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Montana Shelby products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Montana Shelby needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014, it seems that the employees of Montana Shelby 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014, 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Montana Shelby 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 Montana Shelby supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Montana Shelby vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 | 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 Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 are -
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 Montana Shelby in the consumer business. Now Montana Shelby can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Montana Shelby can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Montana Shelby 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 Montana Shelby to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Montana Shelby 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, Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Montana Shelby to increase its market reach. Montana Shelby 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. Montana Shelby can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Montana Shelby 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. Montana Shelby 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 Montana Shelby 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Montana Shelby can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Montana Shelby operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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 Montana Shelby 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Montana Shelby 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Montana Shelby 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 Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Montana Shelby to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Montana Shelby 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.
Threats Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 are -
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 Montana Shelby.
Increasing wage structure of Montana Shelby
– 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 Montana Shelby.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Montana Shelby 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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Montana Shelby has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Montana Shelby 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.
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 Montana Shelby is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Montana Shelby 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.
Environmental challenges
– Montana Shelby 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. Montana Shelby can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Montana Shelby 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 Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 .
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 Montana Shelby business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Montana Shelby 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.
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. Montana Shelby can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 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 Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 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 Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 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 Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 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 Montana Plastic Inc.: The Shelby Division in 2014 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 Montana Shelby needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.