A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China
ABC (A Better Community) provided pro-bono and paid management consulting services to nongovernment organizations in mainland China. Founded in 2008, ABC had quickly expanded from a voluntary group in Beijing with 7 volunteers in to a well-organized NGO with several hundred volunteers operating in 4 cities, serving more than one hundred NGOs. However, the rapid development also brought many challenges to both the running of the organization and how to best achieve its social mission. Case number 2119.0
Swot Analysis of "A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China" written by Christopher Marquis, Zhishuang Guan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Abc Volunteers facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social enterprise and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Abc Volunteers, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Abc Volunteers 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 A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Abc Volunteers
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Abc Volunteers
Strengths A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Abc Volunteers in A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Abc Volunteers to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Abc Volunteers to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Abc Volunteers
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Abc Volunteers does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Abc Volunteers is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Abc Volunteers has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Abc Volunteers is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Abc Volunteers 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 Abc Volunteers in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Abc Volunteers in the sector have low bargaining power. A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Abc Volunteers to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Abc Volunteers 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 Christopher Marquis, Zhishuang Guan 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Abc Volunteers 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Abc Volunteers 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
- Abc Volunteers 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 Abc Volunteers is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Abc Volunteers 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China, is just above the industry average. Abc Volunteers 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Abc Volunteers 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Abc Volunteers 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 - A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Abc Volunteers is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Abc Volunteers 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Abc Volunteers 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Abc Volunteers is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Abc Volunteers needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Abc Volunteers to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China, in the dynamic environment Abc Volunteers has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Abc Volunteers has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Abc Volunteers 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Christopher Marquis, Zhishuang Guan suggests that, Abc Volunteers 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.
Opportunities A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China | 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 A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Abc Volunteers 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, A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Abc Volunteers 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 A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Abc Volunteers to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Abc Volunteers 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
– Abc Volunteers can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China 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.
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 Abc Volunteers 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 Abc Volunteers in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Abc Volunteers is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China 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.
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. Abc Volunteers 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 Abc Volunteers has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Abc Volunteers to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China case study. Abc Volunteers can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Abc Volunteers can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Abc Volunteers 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Abc Volunteers can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
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 Abc Volunteers in the consumer business. Now Abc Volunteers can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Abc Volunteers with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Abc Volunteers in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Abc Volunteers 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. Abc Volunteers can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
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. Abc Volunteers 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.
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 Abc Volunteers 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Abc Volunteers 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Abc Volunteers 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Abc Volunteers 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Abc Volunteers is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China, Abc Volunteers may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
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 Abc Volunteers.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Abc Volunteers in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China 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 A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China 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 A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China 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 A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China 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 A Better Community (ABC): Developing the NGO Infrastructure in China 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 Abc Volunteers needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
