Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy
This case focuses on Solutions Care Association (SCA) - a nonprofit health care organization established in 2000, which quickly became a leader in environmental stewardship and social responsibility. With headquarters in Glenbrook, Nevada, the company had a strong mission and socially responsible culture, which helped attract talent and launch social and environmental initiatives. Despite its numerous achievements and awards, however, there was limited awareness internally and externally about these initiatives and their impact on business and society. In addition, the company did not have a comprehensive way to track and report these achievements. As an emerging leader of the integrated health care plan in the United States, Solutions Care Association had both the responsibility and the opportunity to be a model of what American health care should look like. With growing concerns and scrutiny of the health care industry, there was no better time for Solutions Care Association to continue to strengthen its leadership position in addressing key social and environmental problems, such as providing affordable health care, reducing climate change impacts, phasing out toxic chemicals and creating a safe, culturally sensitive and supportive environment for employees, patients and suppliers.The overall goal of the case is to use the provided information from a comprehensive company assessment to identify a few key areas where Solutions Care Association can focus and demonstrate industry leadership while also supporting the bottom line. A set of key questions is included to guide students' discussion around critical issues for building an integrated CSR strategy for Solutions Care Association, considering its culture, structure and present level of corporate citizenship management.
Swot Analysis of "Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy" written by Vesela Veleva includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Care Association facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social responsibility, Strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Care Association, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Care Association 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 Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Care Association
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Care Association
Strengths Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Care Association in Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Care Association is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Care Association 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Care Association digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Care Association has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Analytics focus
– Care Association 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 Vesela Veleva 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Care Association 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 Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Care Association is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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.
High brand equity
– Care Association has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Care Association to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Care Association has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Care Association 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Care Association is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Care Association
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Care Association does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Care Association is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Care Association 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. Care Association 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Care Association 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 - Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Care Association is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Care Association needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Care Association to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Care Association 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 Care Association 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Care Association 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.
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 Care Association supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Care Association vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Care Association is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Vesela Veleva suggests that, Care Association 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Care Association, firm in the HBR case study Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy, in the dynamic environment Care Association has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Care Association has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy | 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 Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Care Association can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Care Association can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Care Association to increase its market reach. Care Association 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Care Association can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Care Association operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Care Association can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Care Association can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Care Association 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.
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 Care Association 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Care Association can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Care Association 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Care Association 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Care Association 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. Care Association 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Care Association 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 Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Care Association to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 Care Association.
Increasing wage structure of Care Association
– 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 Care Association.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Care Association with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Care Association can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Care Association business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Care Association 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.
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. Care Association needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People 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 Care Association in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy, Care Association may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Care Association 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 Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Care Association is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Care Association 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 Solutions Care Association: Developing an Integrated CSR Strategy 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 Care Association needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.