SWOT Resource and Capability Ethics and Social Responsibility

Fundamental principles of ethical leadership comprise of having honesty and integrity, taking note of all stakeholders, building community, and respecting the individual. Leaders ought to seek solutions to a sequence of significant questions prior to reaching a decision regarding an issue that is not clearly either ethical or unethical (DuBrin, 2016). The leader in question is Mary T. Barra, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of General Motors Company. Barra is considered to be a fantastic leader that is extensively respected around the industry, trusted by consumers across the globe, admired by the company's board and well-regarded by her personnel. Meticulously and transparently, Barra has restored trust and vivacity in the organization when it had been destroyed by a number of inconsiderate predecessors. In addition, Barra shaped General Motors' global footprint by bringing an end to Chevrolet sales in Europe and also ending its operations in troubled Russia completely (Priddle, 2016).

Perceptively, when Barra took over the helm at GM, the company was facing a crisis of retailing cars with faulty ignitions for over a decade. Seemingly, a number of executives at the company knew this and never took action for several years. Rather than evading this particular issue, Barra met this crisis head on with a great deal of honesty and front and center as an ethical leader ought to. In particular, Barra met up with reporters to accentuate the issue and apologize for the lives lost and families affected by the issue. In addition, she took measures to correct any and all safety issues in a forceful manner. In this light, Barra appointed Jeff Boyer as the vice president of global safety tasked with hastily pinpointing and resolving safety issues. Therefore, it can be perceived that Barra is an ethical leader through her actions of taking responsibility as well as taking direct and focused action (Loftus, 2014).

The Competitive Landscape

The local business leader is considering starting a residential roofing business in the state of Texas. There are key aspects that the startup business will have to undertake to get up and running and have its operation. To begin with, there will be need to obtain liability insurance. The roofing business faces the threat of injuries and other risks compared to other contractors. Therefore, there will be a need to cover the high insurance costs. There is also a need for obtaining health insurance for the employees. In addition, it is necessary to be aware of the OSHA Roofing Regulations and Building Code and Inspections (The Roofers Helper, 2015).

There is significant competition in the roofing business in Texas. The new startup will face comprehensive competition from other renowned and established companies in the market such as Clear Choice Roofing, Ace Roofing Company Austin, and also State Roofing Company. One of the key weaknesses that the new business will face is establishing a major consumer base bearing in mind that these companies have already become a common name in the state. However, one of the key opportunities for the company takes into account the fact that the State of Texas is a huge state and that with new homes constantly being built by the population, the company will have prospects of establishing and growing its name and business operations. The company also has the opportunity to establish itself in the market by satisfying roofing needs in terms of repairs and renovations for the residential consumers. In addition, the new startup has the strong suit of solely concentrating on residential roofing. The implication of this is that the company will be able to set competitive prices that will be appealing to consumers in the market. In addition, it will be easier to compete compared to the commercial market with major companies.

References

DuBrin, A. (2016). LEADERSHIP: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills. Cengage Learning.

Loftus, G. (2014). Mary Barra's Leadership Legacy. Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffloftus/2014/03/19/mary-barras-leadership-legacy/#2700a9705301

Priddle, A. (2016). Mary Barra assumes combined chairman and CEO role at GM. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved from: http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2016/01/04/mary-barra-gm-chairman-ceo/78267000/

The Roofers Helper. (2015). How to Start a Roofing Business in Texas. Retrieved from: http://www.theroofershelper.com/how-to-start-a-roofing-business-in-texas/

SWOT Resource & Capability

Chipotle Mexican Grill is a chain of restaurants that lays emphasis on serving food obtained from sustainable farming practices. This takes into account, for instance, meat products that have been responsibly raised in a humane manner devoid of using any hormones or antibiotics. It a fast-casual restaurant chain that purposes to change the manner in which people think and eat fast food. As a result, the company has grown and developed to become a major contender in the incessantly changing fast food industry (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2017).

Question #1: What are the resources that are KEY important resources for your selected company?

There are resources that are key important resources for Chipotle Mexican Grill. One of the key resources...

In particular, one of the key factors that have contributed to the growth of the company is its training program. Despite the fact that these programs can have substantial benefits, several restaurants have embraced the high turnover level and as a result have failed in the formation of programs purposed at developing organizational leaders amidst their prevailing crop of personnel. Taking into account that Chipotle Mexican Grill's training and promotion program is rare in its industry of operation, it has been associated with its major growth. A second resource for Chipotle encompasses brand reputation in the industry. The company's brand reputation is strong, recognizable and extensively known, which is a key determining factor to its success. A third resource for the company encompasses finances. Whilst making comparisons of Chipotle to other rival companies, it can be noted that the firm is financially healthier. For instance, in the 2015 fiscal year, the company's gross margin surpassed that of Taco Bell, its major competitor (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2017).
Another key resource of Chipotle encompasses trade secrets in the form of recipes and techniques employed. Recipes used together with the preparation approaches are a significant resource for Chipotle being in the fast food industry. In this regard, the key factor that sets the company apart takes into account the quality as well as the freshness of the ingredients used for their meals. This facilitates the capacity to serve the similar dishes and meals in a consistent manner and also track as well as control the costs incurred. A fifth resource encompasses physical resources. In particular, in the fast food sector, it is imperative to note that physical resources would comprise of the amount of restaurants within every franchise. In the contemporary, Chipotle Mexican Grill has approximately 2,100 fast food locations across the globe. This is just about thrice the amount of store locations opened by rivals such as Qdoba (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2017).

Question #2: Putting these resources together in certain ways will have capability - WHAT are the capabilities

One of the key capabilities of Chipotle Mexican Grill is customer service. Operating in the fast food industry, it is imperative for a company to render a good experience for the consumer. This is largely because lack thereof can lead to a shift of consumers to rival companies or even tainting the reputation of the firm. Chipotle has a recognized and distinguished reputation for having great consumer service. In accordance to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2015 fiscal year was ranked amongst the top companies that have the best customer service within the fast food industry. A second capability that is key to Chipotle is food preparation. Conceivably, being in the fast food industry that comprises of preparing and serving meals to consumers, then food preparation is amongst the most fundamental capabilities. Majority of Chipotle's approaches for preparing food occur within the restaurant with the employees using hands and classic approaches for cooking and using quality ingredients. Third, there is cost management. Without a doubt, a company can only be able to succeed if it uses proper methods of cost management. Bearing in mind that food outlays constitute approximately 50% of a restaurants total expenses, it is imperative to make the decision whether the food options will be centered on quality or price. In the case of Chipotle, the company's approach of cost management encompasses quality ingredients in order to provide quality food at a higher price (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2017).

Question #3 - Complete/Use the SWOT Resource & Capability Form

Grant Strategy Analysis will be employed to analyze the different resources and capabilities of Chipotle Mexican Grill and compared to the industry. In particular every resource as well as capability included will be given a rating between the scale of 1 to 10. A rating of 5 will be considered to be average or akin to the direct competition.

10

Company

Relative Strength

5

1

Superfluous Strengths

R4

Key StrengthsR1

R6

R5

R3

C1

C1

C4

Inconsequential Weaknesses

C5

R2

Key Weaknesses

1 5 10

SWOT Analysis Table

RESOURCES

Industry Importance

Company Relative Strength

R1. Human Resources

8

9

R2. Reputation

8

3

R3. Finances

10

6

R4. Trade Secrets: Recipes and Techniques

4

5

R5. Physical Resources

10

5

R6. Specialized Processes

8

8

CAPABILITIES

Industry Importance

Company Relative Strength

C1. Customer Service

9

9

C2. Food Preparation

9

5

C3. Cost Management

9

5

C4. Human Capital Management

6

9

C5. Supply Chain Management

9

4

Question #4: What are the weaknesses that are CRITICAL??? What are the POWERFUL Strengths. Discuss…