Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015
Dana Hall is a private all-girls school in New England facing a crisis in its mission. As social norms shift away from single-sex education, the school's enrollment is falling and deficits are becoming the norm. At the same time, the modern vision for girls' education requires an even greater investment in science and sports--at a time when Dana Hall's resources are lower than ever before. Can the school stay true to its mission? How will it find the funding? Through the story of Blair Jenkins, head of school, this case examines the difficult mission and funding decisions facing many nonprofit organizations.
Swot Analysis of "Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015" written by F. Warren McFarlan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Dana Mission facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Financial management, Gender, Marketing, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing,
increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dana Mission, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dana Mission 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 Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dana Mission
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 Dana Mission
Strengths Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Dana Mission in Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Dana Mission is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Dana Mission is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Dana Mission to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Dana Mission to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Dana Mission digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Dana Mission 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.
Organizational Resilience of Dana Mission
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Dana Mission does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Dana Mission is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Dana Mission 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 Dana Mission is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Dana Mission 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 Dana Mission in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Dana Mission has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Dana Mission in the sector have low bargaining power. Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Dana Mission to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Dana Mission 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Dana Mission has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Dana Mission 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.
Weaknesses Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Dana Mission, firm in the HBR case study Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 HBR case study mentions - Dana Mission 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Dana Mission 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015, is just above the industry average. Dana Mission 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Dana Mission 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Dana Mission has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Dana Mission is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Dana Mission needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Dana Mission to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015, it seems that the employees of Dana Mission 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015, in the dynamic environment Dana Mission has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Dana Mission has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, F. Warren McFarlan suggests that, Dana Mission is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Dana Mission 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 - Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 | 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 Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 are -
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Dana Mission to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Developing new processes and practices
– Dana Mission 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Dana Mission can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Dana Mission can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Dana Mission operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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. Dana Mission 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. Dana Mission 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Dana Mission has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Dana Mission to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 case study. Dana Mission can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Dana Mission 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Dana Mission is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Dana Mission to increase its market reach. Dana Mission will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Dana Mission has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Dana Mission to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– Dana Mission 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Dana Mission 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 Dana Mission to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Dana Mission 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.
Threats Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 are -
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. Dana Mission needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Dana Mission 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Dana Mission 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Dana Mission with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Dana Mission in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Dana Mission.
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. Dana Mission can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Dana Mission is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Dana Mission 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.
Environmental challenges
– Dana Mission 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. Dana Mission can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Dana Mission 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 Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 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 Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 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 Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 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 Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 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 Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015 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 Dana Mission needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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You can download Excel Template of Case Study Solution & Analysis of Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (E): Excerpts from a Letter from Head of School Caroline Erisman, May 2015
