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 The technology platform was outdated, data integrity was out of control, costs were spiralling, and most importantly, required information was not available on demand.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 - – technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, 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 -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Donor Organization's 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.
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.
Strong track record of project management
– Donor Organization's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System 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.
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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Donor Organization's in the sector have low bargaining power. Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Donor Organization's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
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.
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.
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.
Organizational Resilience of Donor Organization's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Donor Organization's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Donor Organization's 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 Donor Organization's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
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.
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 -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Donor Organization's has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Donor Organization's 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. Donor Organization's 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System 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 Donor Organization's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 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 Donor Organization's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Donor Organization's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Donor Organization's 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Donor Organization's 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Donor Organization's has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System HBR case study mentions - Donor Organization's takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System 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 Donor Organization's 's lucrative customers.
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 -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Donor Organization's 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 Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Donor Organization's 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 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.
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.
Buying journey improvements
– Donor Organization's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System 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.
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.
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.
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. Donor Organization's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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.
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 Donor Organization's in the consumer business. Now Donor Organization's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Donor Organization's 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, Calgary Drop-In Centre: Donor Information System, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Donor Organization's 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Donor Organization's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Donor Organization's 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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Donor Organization's.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Donor Organization's 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.
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.