Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships
The Executive Director (ED) of a not-for-profit that provided family-centered services to children with disabilities was concerned about the organization's sustainability. The organization was heavily dependent upon financial support from government, however, this funding was insufficient to cover all operating expenses and address the growing demand for services. The ED was interested in developing long-term strategic partnerships to build awareness and generate greater financial support for the organization while remaining true to the organization's mission. She needed to assess current partnerships and determine where to best direct her efforts regarding new partnerships. She also wanted plan that was realistic given the organization's limited people resources.
Authors :: Gina Grandy, Hyla LaPointe, Robert Murray, Laura Park
Swot Analysis of "Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships" written by Gina Grandy, Hyla LaPointe, Robert Murray, Laura Park includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Partnerships Disabilities facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Partnerships Disabilities, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Partnerships Disabilities 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 Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Partnerships Disabilities
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Partnerships Disabilities
Strengths Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Partnerships Disabilities in Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Partnerships Disabilities in the sector have low bargaining power. Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Partnerships Disabilities to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Partnerships Disabilities 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Partnerships Disabilities 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 Partnerships Disabilities in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Partnerships Disabilities
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Partnerships Disabilities does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Partnerships Disabilities digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Partnerships Disabilities has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Partnerships Disabilities has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Partnerships Disabilities 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Partnerships Disabilities 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Partnerships Disabilities is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships 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
– Partnerships Disabilities has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Partnerships Disabilities to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Partnerships Disabilities is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships 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.
Analytics focus
– Partnerships Disabilities 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 Gina Grandy, Hyla LaPointe, Robert Murray, Laura Park 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.
Learning organization
- Partnerships Disabilities 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 Partnerships Disabilities is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships are -
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 Partnerships Disabilities supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Partnerships Disabilities vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Partnerships Disabilities 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 - Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships, is just above the industry average. Partnerships Disabilities 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships 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 Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Partnerships Disabilities is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships HBR case study mentions - Partnerships Disabilities 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Partnerships Disabilities has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Partnerships Disabilities even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Partnerships Disabilities 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships, in the dynamic environment Partnerships Disabilities has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Partnerships Disabilities has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Partnerships Disabilities is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Partnerships Disabilities needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Partnerships Disabilities to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Partnerships Disabilities has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships, it seems that the employees of Partnerships Disabilities 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.
Opportunities Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships | 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 Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Partnerships Disabilities can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Partnerships Disabilities 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Partnerships Disabilities can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Partnerships Disabilities operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Partnerships Disabilities has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Partnerships Disabilities to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships case study. Partnerships Disabilities can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Partnerships Disabilities can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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 Partnerships Disabilities 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 Partnerships Disabilities to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Partnerships Disabilities 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Partnerships Disabilities is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Partnerships Disabilities can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Partnerships Disabilities 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. Partnerships Disabilities 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Partnerships Disabilities can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Strategy & Execution segment.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Partnerships Disabilities 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Partnerships Disabilities can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships 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 Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships are -
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 Partnerships Disabilities business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Partnerships Disabilities has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Partnerships Disabilities needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships, Partnerships Disabilities may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Partnerships Disabilities can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Partnerships Disabilities 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.
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. Partnerships Disabilities 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.
Increasing wage structure of Partnerships Disabilities
– 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 Partnerships Disabilities.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Partnerships Disabilities 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Partnerships Disabilities in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Partnerships Disabilities with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Partnerships Disabilities 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.
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, Partnerships Disabilities 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 Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships 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 Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships 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 Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships 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 Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships 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 Building a Positive Future for Children with Disabilities through Strategic Partnerships 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 Partnerships Disabilities needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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