United Church Housing Corporation SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of United Church Housing Corporation
The chairperson of the United Church Housing Corporation (UCHC) of Regina, Saskatchewan, received some information from an external consultant who was hired to assess the state of affairs of the UCHC. This non-profit organization had operated for over 50 years and had built accommodations for many seniors that were both affordable and offered personal independence. In 2005, the UCHC board approved a new four-storey assisted living facility, Wascana Wing, which was to be built in response to long waitlists. With this decision, the UCHC board had taken out a $3 million mortgage to finance the project. Since opening the new facility, UCHC had been plagued by high vacancy rates as new for-profit competitors entered the market for senior accommodations. The combination of high vacancy rates and UCHC's highly leveraged financial position were the source of losses from 2006 to the present. The board's break-even mentality was not working. UCHC was at a major crossroads - the housing situation of more than 100 seniors residing in assisted living apartments and cottages would need to be decided upon at the next meeting. The question was whether or not June, a retired nurse, would recommend that the board proceed with winding up UCHC or make suggestions that would call for major changes to the current business model.
Authors :: Peter Moroz, Edward Gamble, Stewart Thornhill, Peter Mayne
Swot Analysis of "United Church Housing Corporation" written by Peter Moroz, Edward Gamble, Stewart Thornhill, Peter Mayne includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Uchc Vacancy facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in United Church Housing Corporation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the United Church Housing Corporation casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of United Church Housing Corporation
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in United Church Housing Corporation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Uchc Vacancy, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Uchc Vacancy 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 United Church Housing Corporation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in United Church Housing Corporation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Uchc Vacancy
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 Uchc Vacancy
Strengths United Church Housing Corporation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Uchc Vacancy in United Church Housing Corporation Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Uchc Vacancy 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 Uchc Vacancy is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in United Church Housing Corporation Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Uchc Vacancy is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in United Church Housing Corporation Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Uchc Vacancy in the sector have low bargaining power. United Church Housing Corporation has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Uchc Vacancy to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Uchc Vacancy has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in United Church Housing Corporation HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Uchc Vacancy 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the United Church Housing Corporation 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Uchc Vacancy is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the United Church Housing Corporation are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Uchc Vacancy is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Uchc Vacancy has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in United Church Housing Corporation 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Uchc Vacancy in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Uchc Vacancy 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Uchc Vacancy is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in United Church Housing Corporation 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.
Weaknesses United Church Housing Corporation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of United Church Housing Corporation are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study United Church Housing Corporation, is just above the industry average. Uchc Vacancy 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Uchc Vacancy, firm in the HBR case study United Church Housing Corporation needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study United Church Housing Corporation 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 United Church Housing Corporation can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Uchc Vacancy is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Uchc Vacancy is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study United Church Housing Corporation can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study United Church Housing Corporation 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 Uchc Vacancy 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Uchc Vacancy is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Uchc Vacancy needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Uchc Vacancy to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Uchc Vacancy has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Uchc Vacancy 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Uchc Vacancy 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Uchc Vacancy 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. Uchc Vacancy 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As United Church Housing Corporation HBR case study mentions - Uchc Vacancy 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.
Opportunities United Church Housing Corporation | 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 United Church Housing Corporation are -
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. Uchc Vacancy can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Uchc Vacancy in the consumer business. Now Uchc Vacancy can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Uchc Vacancy 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Uchc Vacancy in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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. Uchc Vacancy 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. Uchc Vacancy 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Uchc Vacancy is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. United Church Housing Corporation 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 Uchc Vacancy to increase its market reach. Uchc Vacancy 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Uchc Vacancy 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 Uchc Vacancy to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Uchc Vacancy 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Uchc Vacancy can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. United Church Housing Corporation 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.
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. Uchc Vacancy can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Uchc Vacancy can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Uchc Vacancy can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats United Church Housing Corporation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study United Church Housing Corporation are -
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 Uchc Vacancy in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Uchc Vacancy business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Uchc Vacancy 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.
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. Uchc Vacancy needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Uchc Vacancy 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Uchc Vacancy 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 United Church Housing Corporation .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Uchc Vacancy with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Uchc Vacancy 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.
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. Uchc Vacancy can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Uchc Vacancy 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Uchc Vacancy 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study United Church Housing Corporation, Uchc Vacancy 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 .
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of United Church Housing Corporation 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 United Church Housing Corporation 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 United Church Housing Corporation 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 United Church Housing Corporation 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 United Church Housing Corporation 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 Uchc Vacancy needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.