micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India
mHS is a social enterprise for the provision of affordable housing in India. After India's microfinance industry collapses, mHS needs to reposition itself for continued operations and long-term growth.
Swot Analysis of "micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India" written by William R. Kerr, Alexis Brownell includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mhs Housing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Social enterprise and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mhs Housing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mhs Housing 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 micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mhs Housing
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 Mhs Housing
Strengths micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mhs Housing in micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mhs Housing has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mhs Housing 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mhs Housing is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Mhs Housing is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mhs Housing is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mhs Housing 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)
– Mhs Housing 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 micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Mhs Housing 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 Mhs Housing in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Mhs Housing has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mhs Housing to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Mhs Housing 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 William R. Kerr, Alexis Brownell 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 Mhs Housing in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Mhs Housing digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Mhs Housing 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Mhs Housing is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Mhs Housing is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Mhs Housing needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Mhs Housing to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mhs Housing 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Mhs Housing 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India 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 Mhs Housing has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India HBR case study mentions - Mhs Housing 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Mhs Housing 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Mhs Housing 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India, it seems that the employees of Mhs Housing 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Mhs Housing 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India, in the dynamic environment Mhs Housing has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mhs Housing has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mhs Housing is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India | 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 micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Mhs Housing 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. Mhs Housing 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, Mhs Housing is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Mhs Housing can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mhs Housing can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mhs Housing operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Mhs Housing 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mhs Housing to increase its market reach. Mhs Housing 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Mhs Housing 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mhs Housing has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mhs Housing to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India case study. Mhs Housing can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mhs Housing 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 micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mhs Housing 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, Mhs Housing 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.
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 Mhs Housing in the consumer business. Now Mhs Housing can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Mhs Housing 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mhs Housing 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.
Threats micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India are -
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 Mhs Housing.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mhs Housing with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mhs Housing is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mhs Housing 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.
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. Mhs Housing 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.
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 Mhs Housing business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Mhs Housing 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India, Mhs Housing 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 .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mhs Housing has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mhs Housing needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Mhs Housing can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Mhs Housing needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Mhs Housing in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India 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 micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India 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 micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India 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 micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India 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 micro Home Solutions: A Social Housing Initiative in India 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 Mhs Housing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
