To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc.
This case study examines the business model of the Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc., (POAH) and its applicability to nonprofit housing providers. POAH is one of the premier socially conscious low-income housing developers and owners in the United States. Its primary mission is to purchase large, multi-family properties and refinance them for long-term affordability. As of 2010, POAH has rescued and refinanced more than 4,900 units of affordable rental housing in eight states and the District of Columbia. Since its founding in 2001, POAH has been unique among preservation owners not only for its business model - which attends closely to the bottom line of every transaction - but also for its commitment to policy and regulatory reform affecting a range of housing affordability issues. This case invites the readers to explore many dimensions of organizational strategy for nonprofit housing companies. In the world of nonprofits POAH is unusual in many ways including its origins-as it was formed in order to complete an acquisition of a significant subsidized low-income housing portfolio its organizational structure, which combines for-profit and nonprofit companies its financial model which emphasizes returning profits to the company and increasing cash flow as opposed to developer fees and especially property management fees its ability to influence government officials to modify regulatory policies to suit the needs of nonprofit housing groups. Finally, the case explores the larger importance of POAH for the low-income housing field.
Swot Analysis of "To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc." written by Alexander Von Hoffman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Poah Housing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational structure, Policy, Regulation, Strategic planning and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Poah Housing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Poah Housing 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 To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Poah Housing
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Poah Housing
Strengths To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Poah Housing in To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Poah Housing in the sector have low bargaining power. To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Poah Housing to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Poah Housing is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Poah Housing has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Poah Housing 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.
Training and development
– Poah Housing has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Poah Housing 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Poah Housing 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 To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Poah Housing is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Poah Housing has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Poah Housing to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Poah Housing is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Poah Housing is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Poah Housing 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.
Analytics focus
– Poah Housing 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 Alexander Von Hoffman 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Weaknesses To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. HBR case study mentions - Poah Housing 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Poah Housing 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Poah Housing has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Poah Housing, firm in the HBR case study To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc., it seems that the employees of Poah Housing don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Poah Housing 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 - To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Poah Housing supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc., it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Poah Housing 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 To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc., in the dynamic environment Poah Housing has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Poah Housing has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc., it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Poah Housing has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc., is just above the industry average. Poah Housing 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.
Opportunities To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. | 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 To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. are -
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 Poah Housing in the consumer business. Now Poah Housing can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Poah Housing has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Poah Housing to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. case study. Poah Housing can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Poah Housing 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. Poah Housing 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Poah Housing in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Poah Housing 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 Poah Housing to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Poah Housing can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Poah Housing can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Poah Housing 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Poah Housing can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Poah Housing operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Poah Housing can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Poah Housing is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Poah Housing can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Poah Housing 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.
Threats To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. 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 To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc., Poah Housing may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Poah Housing 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 Poah Housing business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Poah Housing will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Poah Housing is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Poah Housing 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 Organizational Development industry regulations.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Poah Housing has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Poah Housing needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development 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.
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. Poah Housing needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Poah Housing 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 To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. .
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 Poah Housing in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Poah Housing 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. Poah Housing can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. 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 To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. 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 To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. 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 To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. 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 To Build a Different Model: The Case for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. 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 Poah Housing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
