The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller
The case presents a role play between a buyer and a seller who must negotiate a price for a perishable but rare commodity. The case covers the dilemma faced by buyers and sellers when they are in possession of limited information but must still attempt to negotiate a best-case scenario for themselves. This case involves the seller and is used with The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - (B) The Buyer (W12259).
Swot Analysis of "The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller" written by Samish Dalal, Agarwal Rajiv includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cinnamon Seller facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cinnamon Seller, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cinnamon Seller 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 The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cinnamon Seller
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 Cinnamon Seller
Strengths The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cinnamon Seller in The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Cinnamon Seller 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 The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Cinnamon Seller 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 Cinnamon Seller in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Cinnamon Seller 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 Samish Dalal, Agarwal Rajiv 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
– The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cinnamon Seller to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cinnamon Seller to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cinnamon Seller has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cinnamon Seller 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cinnamon Seller 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cinnamon Seller in the sector have low bargaining power. The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cinnamon Seller to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cinnamon Seller is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cinnamon Seller are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Cinnamon Seller has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cinnamon Seller to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cinnamon Seller digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cinnamon Seller 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.
Training and development
– Cinnamon Seller has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller 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.
Weaknesses The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller are -
Need for greater diversity
– Cinnamon Seller 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Cinnamon Seller 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 - The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Cinnamon Seller 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cinnamon Seller is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Cinnamon Seller needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cinnamon Seller to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Samish Dalal, Agarwal Rajiv suggests that, Cinnamon Seller 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cinnamon Seller is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller 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 Cinnamon Seller 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Cinnamon Seller has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Cinnamon Seller even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cinnamon Seller, firm in the HBR case study The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller 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 The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller, in the dynamic environment Cinnamon Seller has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cinnamon Seller has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Cinnamon Seller supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cinnamon Seller vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller | 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 The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cinnamon Seller 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Cinnamon Seller 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.
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 Cinnamon Seller in the consumer business. Now Cinnamon Seller can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Cinnamon Seller 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cinnamon Seller 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 Cinnamon Seller to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cinnamon Seller can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cinnamon Seller 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, The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Cinnamon Seller can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cinnamon Seller to increase its market reach. Cinnamon Seller 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Cinnamon Seller 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cinnamon Seller can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cinnamon Seller operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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. Cinnamon Seller can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cinnamon Seller 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.
Threats The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller are -
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. Cinnamon Seller 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
– Cinnamon Seller 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. Cinnamon Seller can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing wage structure of Cinnamon Seller
– 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 Cinnamon Seller.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cinnamon Seller 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 Cinnamon Seller business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Cinnamon Seller 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cinnamon Seller 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 The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cinnamon Seller 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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cinnamon Seller has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cinnamon Seller 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cinnamon Seller with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Cinnamon Seller 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 The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller, Cinnamon Seller 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller 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 The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller 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 The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller 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 The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller 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 The Cinnamon Case: Sales Negotiation (Role Play) - A The Seller 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 Cinnamon Seller needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.