Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System
In the spring of 2016, the director of finance and administration for the Calgary Drop-In & Rehab Centre was frustrated with the organization's legacy donor and volunteer information system. The technology platform was outdated, data integrity was out of control, costs were spiralling, and most importantly, required information was not available on demand. The director was concerned that these issues with the organization's information systems would interfere with its ability to maintain positive relationships with existing donors and to secure new financial supporters-ultimately, that it could have an impact on the agency's efforts to achieve more good in the community. He was contemplating three options to solve this problem: build a new in-house system to replace the current Microsoft Access database system; purchase customer relationship management software specifically developed for non-profit fundraising and relationship management and install this on personal computers and servers in the offices; or adopt a cloud-based fundraising solution, where the organization's data would be stored on a secure, shared platform administered by the vendor.
Authors :: Derrick Neufeld, Deb Elkink, Michelle Woo, Dennis Dupuis
Swot Analysis of "Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System" written by Derrick Neufeld, Deb Elkink, Michelle Woo, Dennis Dupuis includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Donor Organization's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Managing people, Social enterprise and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Donor Organization's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Donor Organization's 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 Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Donor Organization's
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 Donor Organization's
Strengths Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Donor Organization's in Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Donor Organization's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Donor Organization's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Donor Organization's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Donor Organization's has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Analytics focus
– Donor Organization's 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 Derrick Neufeld, Deb Elkink, Michelle Woo, Dennis Dupuis 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Donor Organization's 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Donor Organization's 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 Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System - 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 Donor Organization's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Donor Organization's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System 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
– Donor Organization's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Donor Organization's 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.
Learning organization
- Donor Organization's 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 Donor Organization's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Donor Organization's 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 Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Donor Organization's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System 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.
Weaknesses Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System 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 Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Donor Organization's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Donor Organization's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Donor Organization's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Donor Organization's 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 Donor Organization's, firm in the HBR case study Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Donor Organization's 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Donor Organization's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Derrick Neufeld, Deb Elkink, Michelle Woo, Dennis Dupuis suggests that, Donor Organization's 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Donor Organization's 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System, in the dynamic environment Donor Organization's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Donor Organization's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System, it seems that the employees of Donor Organization's 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.
Opportunities Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System | 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 Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Donor Organization's can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Donor Organization's 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Donor Organization's 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Donor Organization's 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Donor Organization's 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Donor Organization's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Donor Organization's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
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 Donor Organization's 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Donor Organization's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Donor Organization's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System case study. Donor Organization's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Donor Organization's to increase its market reach. Donor Organization's 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Donor Organization's 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. Donor Organization's 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, Donor Organization's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Donor Organization's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Donor Organization's 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 Donor Organization's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System are -
Regulatory challenges
– Donor Organization's 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.
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. Donor Organization's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Donor Organization's 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 wage structure of Donor Organization's
– 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 Donor Organization's.
Environmental challenges
– Donor Organization's 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. Donor Organization's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Donor Organization's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Donor Organization's needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Donor Organization's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Donor Organization's 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Donor Organization's 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 Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Donor Organization's is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Donor Organization's 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 Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Donor Organization's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System 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 Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System 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 Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System 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 Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System 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 Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System 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 Donor Organization's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.