Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build?
The project manager at a development company is contemplating the future of the firm's next innovative development project, which had originally been conceptualized in 2008, but for various reasons, had not yet come to fruition. The project manager wants to evaluate the venture from a financial viewpoint, including the company's ongoing cash position should the company go ahead with the building process; he also wants to assess other relevant qualitative considerations. Alternatively, the company could sell the land, which has appreciated considerably in value. All decisions would take into account the company's goals and reputation in the industry.
Swot Analysis of "Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build?" written by Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Erica Furgiuele includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Domus Project facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization,
increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Domus Project, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Domus Project 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 Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Domus Project
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Domus Project
Strengths Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Domus Project in Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Domus Project is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Domus Project 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Domus Project has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Domus Project 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.
Training and development
– Domus Project has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Domus Project 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.
Organizational Resilience of Domus Project
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Domus Project does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Domus Project in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Domus Project is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Domus Project in the sector have low bargaining power. Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Domus Project to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Domus Project to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Domus Project to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Domus Project is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Erica Furgiuele can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Weaknesses Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build?, in the dynamic environment Domus Project has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Domus Project has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? 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 Domus Project 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Domus Project supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Domus Project vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Domus Project 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Domus Project is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Domus Project needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Domus Project to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Domus Project 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Domus Project products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Domus Project needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build?, it seems that the employees of Domus Project 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Domus Project 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Erica Furgiuele suggests that, Domus Project 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Domus Project, firm in the HBR case study Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? | 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 Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Domus Project 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 Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Domus Project to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Domus Project to increase its market reach. Domus Project 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 Domus Project 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Domus Project has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Domus Project to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? case study. Domus Project can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Domus Project 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Domus Project can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
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 Domus Project 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Domus Project 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Domus Project 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. Domus Project 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.
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. Domus Project 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 Domus Project in the consumer business. Now Domus Project can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Domus Project 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Domus Project is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? 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.
Threats Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? are -
Increasing wage structure of Domus Project
– 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 Domus Project.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Domus Project 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Domus Project with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Domus Project 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build?, Domus Project may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
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 Domus Project.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Domus Project can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Domus Project can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Domus Project 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.
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 Domus Project in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Domus Project has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Domus Project needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Environmental challenges
– Domus Project 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. Domus Project can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? 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 Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? 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 Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? 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 Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? 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 Domus Developments: To Build or Not to Build? 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 Domus Project needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.