General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B)

Supplements the (A) case.

Authors :: Diana Barrett, Sheila McCarthy Leddy

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Social enterprise, Social responsibility, Succession planning, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B)" written by Diana Barrett, Sheila McCarthy Leddy includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Huddle Hawthorne facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social enterprise, Social responsibility, Succession planning and Leadership & Managing People.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B)

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Huddle Hawthorne, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Huddle Hawthorne 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Huddle Hawthorne
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 Huddle Hawthorne

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Strengths General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Huddle Hawthorne in General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Huddle Hawthorne 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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Training and development

– Huddle Hawthorne has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Huddle Hawthorne 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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Huddle Hawthorne in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Successful track record of launching new products

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

Strong track record of project management

– Huddle Hawthorne is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Diverse revenue streams

– Huddle Hawthorne is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Huddle Hawthorne is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Huddle Hawthorne is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Learning organization

- Huddle Hawthorne 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 Huddle Hawthorne is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field

– Huddle Hawthorne 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 Huddle Hawthorne in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Organizational Resilience of Huddle Hawthorne

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Huddle Hawthorne does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

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Weaknesses General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) are -

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) HBR case study mentions - Huddle Hawthorne 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Huddle Hawthorne 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 cash cycle compare to competitors

Huddle Hawthorne has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) 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 Huddle Hawthorne 's lucrative customers.

Lack of clear differentiation of Huddle Hawthorne products

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

Products dominated business model

– Even though Huddle Hawthorne has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) 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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Huddle Hawthorne 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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B), in the dynamic environment Huddle Hawthorne has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Huddle Hawthorne has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Huddle Hawthorne 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Huddle Hawthorne 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Huddle Hawthorne 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.

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Opportunities General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) | 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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) are -

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Huddle Hawthorne 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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Huddle Hawthorne 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 Huddle Hawthorne 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Huddle Hawthorne 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 Huddle Hawthorne to increase its market reach. Huddle Hawthorne 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Huddle Hawthorne 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Huddle Hawthorne is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) 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.

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 Huddle Hawthorne in the consumer business. Now Huddle Hawthorne can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Buying journey improvements

– Huddle Hawthorne can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Huddle Hawthorne has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Huddle Hawthorne to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) case study. Huddle Hawthorne can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Huddle Hawthorne can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Leadership & Managing People segment.

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. Huddle Hawthorne 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. Huddle Hawthorne 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.

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

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Huddle Hawthorne 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, General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

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Threats General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) are -

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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Huddle Hawthorne with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Regulatory challenges

– Huddle Hawthorne 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.

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. Huddle Hawthorne 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.

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 Huddle Hawthorne in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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 Huddle Hawthorne.

Shortening product life cycle

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

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. Huddle Hawthorne 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

– Huddle Hawthorne 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.

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 Huddle Hawthorne business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Huddle Hawthorne 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Huddle Hawthorne 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.

Environmental challenges

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

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) 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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) 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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) 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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) 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 General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (B) 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 Huddle Hawthorne needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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