West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic
Integrates issues in service operations, organization behavior, and applications of management science models such as simulation and queuing theory. A complete analysis of the case includes understanding process flows, computing utilization levels, and using models of the stochastic arrival rate and service rates of the existing and proposed systems. In addition, considers the managerial issues involved in running an ambulatory care center. The Primary Care Clinic (PCC) is the only walk-in clinic on campus and presently works under a triage system. The Student Health Services (along with PCC) is scheduled to move to a new facility. The director of the PCC views the move as a good opportunity to review and improve on the present service delivery process and system. Three broad objectives have been identified for the new system: reduce the waiting time for seeing a healthcare provider, transform the perception of the clinic as an impersonal bureaucracy, and improve student perceptions (especially nonusers) about the performance and effectiveness of the PCC. To achieve these objectives, a new system of clinician teams (doctors and nurse practitioners) has been proposed.
Authors :: David Wylie, Ashok Rao, Jay Rao, Ivor Morgan
Swot Analysis of "West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic" written by David Wylie, Ashok Rao, Jay Rao, Ivor Morgan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pcc Clinic facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Human resource management, Organizational culture, Supply chain and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pcc Clinic, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pcc Clinic 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 West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pcc Clinic
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Pcc Clinic
Strengths West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Pcc Clinic in West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Pcc Clinic has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Pcc Clinic to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Pcc Clinic 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 Pcc Clinic is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Pcc Clinic is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Pcc Clinic 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 Pcc Clinic in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Pcc Clinic 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 West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Pcc Clinic 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 West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Pcc Clinic in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Pcc Clinic is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Pcc Clinic has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Pcc Clinic 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Pcc Clinic is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic 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 Technology & Operations industry
– West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Pcc Clinic to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Pcc Clinic to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Pcc Clinic 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.
Weaknesses West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Pcc Clinic 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Pcc Clinic, firm in the HBR case study West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Pcc Clinic products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Pcc Clinic needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic 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 Pcc Clinic 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic, in the dynamic environment Pcc Clinic has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Pcc Clinic has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Pcc Clinic 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Pcc Clinic is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Pcc Clinic needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Pcc Clinic to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Pcc Clinic 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. Pcc Clinic 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic, is just above the industry average. Pcc Clinic 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic 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 Pcc Clinic has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Pcc Clinic 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.
Opportunities West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic | 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 West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Pcc Clinic 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, Pcc Clinic can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Pcc Clinic operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Pcc Clinic can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Pcc Clinic 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, West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Pcc Clinic 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 Technology & Operations segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Pcc Clinic to increase its market reach. Pcc Clinic 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Pcc Clinic 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.
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. Pcc Clinic can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Pcc Clinic in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Pcc Clinic is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Pcc Clinic can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Pcc Clinic has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Pcc Clinic to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic case study. Pcc Clinic can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Pcc Clinic 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.
Threats West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic are -
Regulatory challenges
– Pcc Clinic 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.
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 Pcc Clinic business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Pcc Clinic
– 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 Pcc Clinic.
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. Pcc Clinic 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Pcc Clinic 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.
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 Pcc Clinic in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Pcc Clinic is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
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.
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 Pcc Clinic.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Pcc Clinic in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic, Pcc Clinic may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Pcc Clinic 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic 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 West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic 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 West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic 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 West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic 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 West Coast University Student Health Services--Primary Care Clinic 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 Pcc Clinic needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.