Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged)
This is a shortened version of The Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester, HBS case #9-800-355. It eliminates some background detail and the financial data and exhibits. As with the original case, it chronicles the appointment of Douglas Ivester as CEO of Coca-Cola and the missteps that led to his dismissal.
Authors :: Michael D. Watkins, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Cate Reavis
Swot Analysis of "Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged)" written by Michael D. Watkins, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Cate Reavis includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ivester Douglas facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Managing people, Organizational culture, Succession planning and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ivester Douglas, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ivester Douglas 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 Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ivester Douglas
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 Ivester Douglas
Strengths Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ivester Douglas in Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ivester Douglas is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Ivester Douglas 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 Michael D. Watkins, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Cate Reavis 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.
Organizational Resilience of Ivester Douglas
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ivester Douglas does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ivester Douglas 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 Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Ivester Douglas 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 Ivester Douglas is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ivester Douglas digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ivester Douglas 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 Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) 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.
Training and development
– Ivester Douglas has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ivester Douglas in the sector have low bargaining power. Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ivester Douglas to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Ivester Douglas is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) 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
– Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ivester Douglas to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ivester Douglas to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ivester Douglas has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ivester Douglas 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 Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) 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 Ivester Douglas has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) 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 Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ivester Douglas is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged), in the dynamic environment Ivester Douglas has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ivester Douglas has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ivester Douglas products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ivester Douglas needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Ivester Douglas 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) 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 Ivester Douglas 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ivester Douglas has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
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 Ivester Douglas supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ivester Douglas vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) HBR case study mentions - Ivester Douglas 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ivester Douglas 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ivester Douglas 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 Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) | 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 Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Ivester Douglas 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Ivester Douglas 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 Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ivester Douglas to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ivester Douglas 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 Ivester Douglas 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, Ivester Douglas 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, Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ivester Douglas can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ivester Douglas 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 Ivester Douglas to increase its market reach. Ivester Douglas 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. Ivester Douglas can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ivester Douglas can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Ivester Douglas can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Ivester Douglas 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.
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. Ivester Douglas 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. Ivester Douglas 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ivester Douglas 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 Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) 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 Ivester Douglas business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ivester Douglas 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ivester Douglas with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Ivester Douglas needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ivester Douglas can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Increasing wage structure of Ivester Douglas
– 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 Ivester Douglas.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ivester Douglas 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, Ivester Douglas 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 Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) .
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.
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 Ivester Douglas in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Ivester Douglas 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Ivester Douglas 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.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) 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 Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) 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 Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) 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 Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) 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 Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) 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 Ivester Douglas needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.