Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A)
Loan officer Jim Teague discovers his agro-processor client has a serious health-code violation just days before a disbursement is due. Proceeding with the loan could jeopardize the health of thousands of customers and put his employer at serious risk. But withholding the loan will likely deprive hundreds of farmers affiliated with the agro-processor their livelihoods in this poor rural corner of Tanzania.
Swot Analysis of "Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A)" written by Karthik Ramanna includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Teague Agro facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Influence, Leadership, Operations management, Organizational culture, Social enterprise and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Teague Agro, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Teague Agro 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 Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Teague Agro
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 Teague Agro
Strengths Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Teague Agro in Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Teague Agro 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 Teague Agro in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Teague Agro is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Teague Agro is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Teague Agro 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 Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) - 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
– Teague Agro 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 Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Teague Agro has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Teague Agro in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Teague Agro has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Teague Agro to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Teague Agro
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Teague Agro does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Teague Agro is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Teague Agro to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Teague Agro to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Teague Agro 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.
Weaknesses Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Teague Agro products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Teague Agro needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Teague Agro 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 - Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) 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 Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) 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 Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Teague Agro is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) 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 Teague Agro 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) HBR case study mentions - Teague Agro 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Teague Agro is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Teague Agro needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Teague Agro to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Teague Agro supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Teague Agro vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A), in the dynamic environment Teague Agro has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Teague Agro has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Teague Agro, firm in the HBR case study Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A), is just above the industry average. Teague Agro 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Teague Agro 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.
Opportunities Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) | 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 Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) are -
Manufacturing automation
– Teague Agro 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 Teague Agro 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 Teague Agro to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Teague Agro 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Teague Agro can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Teague Agro 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.
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. Teague Agro 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. Teague Agro 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Teague Agro to increase its market reach. Teague Agro 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Teague Agro can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Teague Agro 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. Teague Agro 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, Teague Agro 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, Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Teague Agro to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Teague Agro 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Teague Agro can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) 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.
Threats Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A), Teague Agro 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 .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Teague Agro 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Teague Agro is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Teague Agro
– 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 Teague Agro.
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. Teague Agro needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Teague Agro 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.
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 Teague Agro.
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 Teague Agro in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Teague Agro in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Teague Agro 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 Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Teague Agro 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.
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. Teague Agro can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Teague Agro 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) 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 Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) 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 Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) 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 Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) 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 Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A) 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 Teague Agro needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.