Hogia Small Office – Stuck in the middle? A case study of Hogia Small Office’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

Abstract

Background and problem: Hogia Small Office is a subsidiary within the Hogia combine with Hogia AB as the parent company. The combine is one of the leading providers of bookkeeping systems. The managing director of Hogia Small Office was interested in making an overall examination of the company and we chose to perform a SWOT analysis. Our problem formulation has been what are Hogia Small Office’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats? Aim of the research paper: The aim with this report has been to answer the questions above. From the mapping of these questions we then have given recommendations of possible changes that can be made in the organization. We have provided Hogia Small Office with an observer’s view of their organization. Delimitation: In this paper we have solely concentrated our SWOT analysis on Hogia Small Office. However we have described some parts of the combine in areas where we feel that by doing so the reader gains a better understanding for Hogia Small Office’s situation. Method: Literature that treats the subjects concerned in a SWOT analysis has been used side by side with the Internet. We have made several interviews with the employees and been present at their head office in Stenungsund to make our own observations. Analysis and conclusions: After we finished our SWOT analysis we discovered that Hogia Small Office have more weaknesses than strengths and if these are not corrected in the near future this can affect Hogia Small Office in a negative way. Sub optimisation, the lack of central resources and the neglecting of branding and customer needs, are according to us major problems. Proposal from the authors on further research: We feel that further research on the Hogia combine as an entity or on its other subsidiaries would be interesting reading. Can the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats be found in the other companies? Another suggestion is to create an alternative organizational structure with responsibility areas. Finally, for management students, an in-depth study of the “Hogian culture” could be made.