Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette
A.G. Lafley and P&G leaders decided to approach the Gillette integration differently from previous mergers. Using P&G's purpose, values, and principles (PVP) it treated the acquisition as a merger which sought to take the "best of both" from each company. In the integration's first phase, prior to the change of control, the strategy achieved successes while creating some unexpected challenges. How should the integration leaders address these challenges moving forward?
Swot Analysis of "Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Matthew Bird includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Gillette Integration's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Manufacturing and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Gillette Integration's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Gillette Integration's 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 Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Gillette Integration's
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 Gillette Integration's
Strengths Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Gillette Integration's in Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Gillette Integration's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette 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.
Analytics focus
– Gillette Integration's 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 Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Matthew Bird 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Gillette Integration's 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
– Gillette Integration's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette 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 Gillette Integration's in the sector have low bargaining power. Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Gillette Integration's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Gillette Integration's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Gillette Integration's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Gillette Integration's 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 Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Gillette Integration's 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 Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Gillette Integration's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Gillette Integration's 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Gillette Integration's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Gillette Integration's 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 Gillette Integration's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Gillette Integration's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Gillette Integration's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Gillette Integration's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette, 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Gillette Integration's 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette, it seems that the employees of Gillette Integration's 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette 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 Gillette Integration's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Gillette Integration's 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Gillette Integration's, firm in the HBR case study Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette, in the dynamic environment Gillette Integration's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Gillette Integration's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette 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 Gillette Integration's 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Gillette Integration's 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette, is just above the industry average. Gillette Integration's needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Opportunities Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette | 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 Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Gillette Integration's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Gillette Integration's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Gillette Integration's to increase its market reach. Gillette Integration's 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Gillette Integration's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Gillette Integration's 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, Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Gillette Integration's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Gillette Integration's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette case study. Gillette Integration's 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 Gillette Integration's 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Gillette Integration's 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 Gillette Integration's 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. Gillette Integration's 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. Gillette Integration's 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 Gillette Integration's 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Gillette Integration's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Gillette Integration's 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.
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. Gillette Integration's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Gillette Integration's has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Threats Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Gillette Integration's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Gillette Integration's 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.
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 Gillette Integration's.
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 Gillette Integration's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Gillette Integration's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Gillette Integration's 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. Gillette Integration's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Gillette Integration's 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. Gillette Integration's 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
– Gillette Integration's 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Gillette Integration's is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Gillette Integration's 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette, Gillette Integration's 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 .
Increasing wage structure of Gillette Integration's
– 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 Gillette Integration's.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette 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 Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette 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 Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette 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 Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette 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 Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette 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 Gillette Integration's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
