Comprehensive Problem #6 Submission
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Complete and submit your solution as one file attachment.
All Parts are to be completed using an Excel worksheet.
All supporting calculations are to be shown. Please highlight your final answers.
Assignment must be submitted as a file attachment.
For any assignment in Excel, you have to use the formulas for any calculation.
M8 Written Assignments
Final Project and Take-Away
This last module provides time to complete a Full Narrative Case Study report on Sawchyn
Guitars: Can An Old Business Learn New Tricks. The case analysis narrative is NOT a team
project. Having completed a SWOT Analysis, your assignment is now to take what you have
learned in order to do a complete case study. Use the 10 questions from the case narrative as
your guide, to write your own full case study narrative for Sawchyn Guitars: Can An Old Business
Learn New Tricks.
The readings, the business cases, the course supplement, and of course the SWOT analysis are
not exercises to be forgotten, but newly learned tools for use as you work to become a good
manager. Your final project, a full Case Study on Sawchyn Guitars: Can An Old Business Learn
New Tricks is an individual project.
Use this last Module to finalize your coursework, submit your final assignment and add your
final reflect thoughts to your journal.
M8 Reflective Journal Assignment
Your New Management Competencies
Submit your Reflective Journal for this module as an attachment.
Please make sure you’ve answered the following questions in your journal entry: (All Journal
Questions are also written out within the Template).
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Reflect on what specific management principles you have learned from this course.
What competencies will you take away that will make you a more effective
manager?
What did you enjoy about this course?
What would you share with a student who might be considering taking this course?
Your journal entries should be a combination of your personal reflection supported by facts
from the readings, discussion, and assignments.
(Continue to build on the last graded Reflective Journal file -which includes instructor
comments- and upload the new version with additions in each module.)
Case study questions: Sawchyn Guitars
1. Who are the main players within Sawchyn Guitars organization affected by the
challenges?
The main players within Sawchyn Guitars’ organization affected by the challenges are the
employees, the customers, and the management. The employees are the ones who are directly
affected by the challenges, as they are the ones who have to deal with them on a daily basis. They
are the ones who have to find ways to work around the challenges and to make sure that they are
still able to do their job properly. The customers are also affected by the challenges, as they may
not be able to get the products or services that they need from Sawchyn Guitars. The management
is also affected by the challenges, as they have to find ways to solve the challenges and to make
sure that the employees and the customers are still happy. Therefore, in this case, Peter would be
affected.
2. In what business and industry is the company operating? Describe the
characteristics of the industry.
Sawchyn Guitars is a company that manufactures and sells guitars. The company is based in
Canada and operates in the musical instrument industry. The musical instrument industry is a
competitive industry with a few large companies and many small companies. The industry is
characterized by high fixed costs, low variable costs, and products that are differentiated by brand
and quality. Sawchyn Guitars is a small company that competes against larger companies such as
Gibson and Fender. The company has a differentiated product offering and a loyal customer base.
The company’s competitive environment is affected by factors such as its competitive
environment, global economy, and technological environment.
3. Briefly describe the history of the organization and its milestones.
Peter began this business in the seclusion of his own backyard. He taught himself how to make
guitars from scratch and eventually became an expert. Even though he was inundated with orders,
he made sure to devote sufficient time and attention to each individual product until he was happy
with its level of perfection. Because the number of orders he was receiving gradually increased,
he eventually needed to relocate to a larger location. Because he didn’t use any technology and
couldn’t hire more people to help him because this work required art, the average time it took to
finish an order went up by a lot.
4. What are the strengths and problems facing the organization? What do they do
well? What do they need to improve upon? (Use the Internal Perspective from the
SWOT as a foundation).
The greatest strength of this organization is its production of quality products. They can make
instruments with various tones, and they have many loyal clients. Sawchyn studied instruments
for years. His experience has given him an edge in creating unique-sounding instruments. Sawchyn
makes instruments slowly. Based on the customer’s specifications, he spends 60–80 hours
designing the final instruments. They also have global fans. This is obvious from comments on his
website about his instrument-making efforts. His instruments are popular locally and
internationally. His design lacks digital gear. Small staff High demand limits production. Peter
Sawchyn didn’t use a computerized production process, unlike other industries. Peter Sawchyn
handcrafts his instruments’ wooden parts. Other manufacturers using digital gear can work faster
and decorate the instruments. Peter Sawchyn builds all the instruments with his own hands. This
makes it difficult for him to meet his customers’ demand for a consistent supply of instruments.
His long hours cause him stress and strain.
5. What internal circumstances caused or influenced the emergence of the identified
problems? (Use the Internal Perspective from the SWOT as a foundation)
Due to the organization’s limited resources and the strong demand for their products, they are
unable to manufacture any additional instruments. Due to the fact that the Canadian currency was
significantly weaker than the United States dollar in the early years of his business, the majority
of his sales came from consumers in the United States, who received discounts of 25–30%. The
previously held advantage has vanished.Sawchyn Guitar’s instruments are made with wooden
components that are manually developed, in contrast to other manufacturers that use automated
machinery, which results in a more streamlined production process. The costs are extremely
exorbitant, with guitars ranging anywhere from $2920 up to $8150 depending on the model and
bespoke preferences of the buyer, and mandolins ranging anywhere from $899 up to $5980
depending on the model and custom preferences of the buyer. reliance on a key person
(Peter)Sawchyn couldn’t keep making new instruments for the shop because he wasn’t very good
at marketing and there was a lot of demand for instrument repairs, instruments for sale, and custom
orders.
6. What external circumstances caused or influenced the emergence of the identified
problems? (Use the External Perspective from the SWOT as a foundation)
Because Sawchyn Guitar is unable to meet these demands, it is possible that his consumers would
hunt for alternatives in other sectors that produce the identical instruments. The cycle that
characterizes the economy of the region Changes to NAFTA, the economic downturn, and
expenditures required to ramp up production could be expensive if robust sales growth does not
follow. The regulation of trade and the fluctuation of currencies In the area where he lives, there
are also five other custom guitar builders and twenty-two custom acoustic guitar makers, most of
whom are in Ontario.
7. What external influences potentially provide a competitive advantage to creating
a strategy for
differentiation enabling them to compete within the context of their industry? (Use the
External Perspective from the SWOT as a foundation, and refer to the strategic management
chapter in the textbook and the YouTube SWOT video).
There was a rise in the number of orders placed online and orders from other countries, in addition
to the expansion of the local economy brought on by the oil industry. local population increase
(estimated at 7.7% according to the census), macroeconomic or GDP growth in the United States
and Canada, and high levels of consumer confidence. They might bring on new staff members to
assist with the excessive workload, in addition to running the business itself. Famous musicians
use his instruments, including Canadian music hall of famer and six-time Juno award winner Colin
James, along with two of Canada’s most acclaimed finger-style guitarists, Joel Fafard and Bob
Evans, both of whom were winners of the U.S. National Fingerstyle Guitar championship. There
are very few custom mandolin makers in the world. This strategy could help him sell more
instruments by letting people know about the high quality of his products.
8. What are the possible solutions to the identified problems?
One solution to this problem is to increase the number of employees and educate them on the
production process of the product. Peter can’t meet the requirements because he hasn’t told the
truth.
9. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the possible solutions?
It would be advantageous to be able to produce more guitars more quickly in order to satisfy
customers. However, it could be a disadvantage to hire people who are not as passionate about
guitar making as he is and who do not produce guitars of the same high quality as he does. Also,
recruiting and training people is a very expensive process, and it’s possible that he doesn’t have
enough money in his budget to do it.
10. If you were the key decision maker in this organization, which solution would you
choose, and why?
The amount of money he would make back in sales would cover the cost of hiring more people
and training them because customers would notice the faster turnaround times and order more stuff
more frequently, which would cover the cost of hiring more employees. Thus, I would hire more
employees.

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