DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C)
DHAN Foundation, based in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, was a non-government organization with a difference. It was neither a philanthropic organization nor a service organization but a development organization focused on grassroots development aided by professional management. This series of cases focuses on DHAN's journey in the realm of healthcare, tracing the genesis and evolution of its community health efforts, particularly during the first decade of its existence (1997 to 2007), and describing the challenges the Foundation faced along the way and its responses to those challenges. Set in 2007, this case seeks to synthesize the decade-long experience of DHAN in the realm of healthcare. M. P. Vasimalai (Vasi), DHAN's Executive Director, is tasked with making an important presentation to the Prime Minister and a team of government officials. Obviously, the good work of DHAN in this arena had not gone unnoticed. In preparing his presentation, Vasi must journey through DHAN's experience and the dilemma it is grappling with: whether to continue its healthcare interventions on a project-by-project basis or adopt a holistic healthcare model, bringing together its multiple and diffused healthcare-related initiatives under a common canopy for ease of administration and to derive the benefits of synergy.
Swot Analysis of "DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C)" written by D.V.R. Seshadri, K. Sasidhar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Dhan Healthcare facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dhan Healthcare, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dhan Healthcare 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 DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dhan Healthcare
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Dhan Healthcare
Strengths DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Dhan Healthcare in DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Dhan Healthcare in the sector have low bargaining power. DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Dhan Healthcare to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Dhan Healthcare has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Dhan Healthcare to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Dhan Healthcare digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Dhan Healthcare 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Dhan Healthcare 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 DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Dhan Healthcare 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 D.V.R. Seshadri, K. Sasidhar 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Dhan Healthcare in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Dhan Healthcare 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 DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Dhan Healthcare 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 Dhan Healthcare in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Dhan Healthcare is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Dhan Healthcare 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 Dhan Healthcare is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Dhan Healthcare is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Dhan Healthcare has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Dhan Healthcare 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.
Weaknesses DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C), it seems that the employees of Dhan Healthcare 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) 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 Dhan Healthcare 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Dhan Healthcare 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) 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 Dhan Healthcare has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C), is just above the industry average. Dhan Healthcare 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Dhan Healthcare, firm in the HBR case study DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Dhan Healthcare 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C), in the dynamic environment Dhan Healthcare has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Dhan Healthcare has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Dhan Healthcare 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Dhan Healthcare 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 - DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Dhan Healthcare supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Dhan Healthcare vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) | 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 DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Dhan Healthcare can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Dhan Healthcare 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
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. Dhan Healthcare 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 Dhan Healthcare in the consumer business. Now Dhan Healthcare can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Dhan Healthcare 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Dhan Healthcare has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Dhan Healthcare to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) case study. Dhan Healthcare can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Dhan Healthcare 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Dhan Healthcare 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Dhan Healthcare can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Dhan Healthcare can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Dhan Healthcare 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Dhan Healthcare in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Dhan Healthcare 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.
Threats DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Dhan Healthcare 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 DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) .
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 Dhan Healthcare business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Dhan Healthcare
– 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 Dhan Healthcare.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Dhan Healthcare 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Dhan Healthcare in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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 DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C), Dhan Healthcare may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Environmental challenges
– Dhan Healthcare 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. Dhan Healthcare can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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 Dhan Healthcare in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Dhan Healthcare 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
– Dhan Healthcare needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Dhan Healthcare 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Dhan Healthcare is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) 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 DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) 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 DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) 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 DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) 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 DHAN Foundation: Delivering Healthcare to the Village Doorstep - A Holistic Healthcare Model (C) 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 Dhan Healthcare needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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