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 - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, 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 -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– United Church Housing Corporation firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Uchc Vacancy to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Uchc Vacancy to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Uchc Vacancy 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 Uchc Vacancy in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Uchc Vacancy 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 United Church Housing Corporation - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Uchc Vacancy has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Uchc Vacancy to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Uchc Vacancy has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Uchc Vacancy 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.
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.
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 -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Uchc Vacancy 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Uchc Vacancy needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Lack of clear differentiation of Uchc Vacancy products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Uchc Vacancy needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study United Church Housing Corporation, in the dynamic environment Uchc Vacancy has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Uchc Vacancy has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study United Church Housing Corporation, it seems that the employees of Uchc Vacancy 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.
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.
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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the United Church Housing Corporation 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 Uchc Vacancy has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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.
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.
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 -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Uchc Vacancy 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.
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.
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.
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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Uchc Vacancy 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.
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.
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.
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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Uchc Vacancy 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 United Church Housing Corporation - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Uchc Vacancy to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Uchc Vacancy has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Uchc Vacancy to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the United Church Housing Corporation case study. Uchc Vacancy can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Uchc Vacancy 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Uchc Vacancy can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Uchc Vacancy operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Uchc Vacancy can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, United Church Housing Corporation, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Uchc Vacancy 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Uchc Vacancy 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. Uchc Vacancy can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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 Uchc Vacancy.
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.
