Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont
At the Benedictine monastery of Admont in Austria, which had been economically active for over 940 years, the monks tended to think in centuries rather than quarters. However, the monastery's business director needed to make a decision in a much shorter timeframe. The monastery employed approximately 600 people in its forestry, wine-growing, energy, real estate, services, and industrial businesses. Its largest subsidiary, an industrial manufacturer of wooden floorboards, was faced with severe challenges in 2015, including highly fluctuating demand and a growing pressure on margins due to low-cost competition from Asia. The business director had to decide how to proceed with the loss-making company, bearing in mind his responsibility towards the monastery and its higher purposes (such as providing pastoral care and fostering regional development through the creation of jobs). Dietmar Sternad is affiliated with Carinthia University of Applied Sciences.
Swot Analysis of "Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont" written by Dietmar Sternad includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Monastery Admont facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Manufacturing, Social responsibility, Strategy, Sustainability and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Monastery Admont, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Monastery Admont operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Monastery Admont
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Monastery Admont
Strengths Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Monastery Admont in Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Monastery Admont digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Monastery Admont has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Monastery Admont 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 Monastery Admont in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Monastery Admont has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Analytics focus
– Monastery Admont 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 Dietmar Sternad 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Monastery Admont to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Monastery Admont to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Monastery Admont has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Monastery Admont in the sector have low bargaining power. Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Monastery Admont to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Monastery Admont has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Monastery Admont to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Monastery Admont is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Monastery Admont is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Monastery Admont is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Monastery Admont in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Monastery Admont is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Weaknesses Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Monastery Admont 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 - Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Dietmar Sternad suggests that, Monastery Admont is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Monastery Admont needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Monastery Admont 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Monastery Admont has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Need for greater diversity
– Monastery Admont 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 Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont 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 Monastery Admont 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Monastery Admont 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, it seems that the employees of Monastery Admont don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Monastery Admont is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Monastery Admont can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Monastery Admont has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Monastery Admont to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Monastery Admont to increase its market reach. Monastery Admont will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Monastery Admont to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Monastery Admont to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Monastery Admont is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Monastery Admont 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Monastery Admont can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Monastery Admont operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Monastery Admont can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
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 Monastery Admont in the consumer business. Now Monastery Admont can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Monastery Admont has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Monastery Admont to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont case study. Monastery Admont can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Monastery Admont can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Monastery Admont can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Monastery Admont can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Monastery Admont can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Threats Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont are -
Environmental challenges
– Monastery Admont needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Monastery Admont can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Monastery Admont in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, Monastery Admont may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Monastery Admont 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 Monastery Admont demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Monastery Admont high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
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 Monastery Admont business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Monastery Admont 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 Monastery Admont is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Monastery Admont with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Monastery Admont needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Monastery Admont can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Monastery Admont can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Long-Term Orientation in the Benedictine Monastery of Admont is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Monastery Admont needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.