John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund
In May 2015 prominent leaders in St. Louis were celebrating the launch of the Contractor Loan Fund (CLF), a $10 million revolving loan fund meant to help area minority and women-owned construction contractors grow their businesses. John Dubinsky, the leader behind the advancement of this project, aimed to decrease the region's longstanding economic and social inequalities. Despite successfully scoping out the project, recruiting a team, fundraising, and launching the fund, Dubinsky was still worried about the process by which they would cultivate the growth of minority and women-owned construction contractors.
Authors :: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Frank Jerome LaNasa
Swot Analysis of "John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Frank Jerome LaNasa includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Dubinsky Fund facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Economic development, Gender, Leadership, Policy, Race and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dubinsky Fund, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dubinsky Fund 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 John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dubinsky Fund
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 Dubinsky Fund
Strengths John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Dubinsky Fund in John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Dubinsky Fund in the sector have low bargaining power. John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Dubinsky Fund to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund 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
– Dubinsky Fund 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 John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Dubinsky Fund has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Dubinsky Fund 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Dubinsky Fund to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Dubinsky Fund to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Dubinsky Fund in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Dubinsky Fund 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 John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Dubinsky Fund has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Dubinsky Fund to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Dubinsky Fund has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Dubinsky Fund digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Dubinsky Fund 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Dubinsky Fund is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Dubinsky Fund is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund 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.
Weaknesses John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund are -
Need for greater diversity
– Dubinsky Fund 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Dubinsky Fund is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Dubinsky Fund needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Dubinsky Fund to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Dubinsky Fund 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund, in the dynamic environment Dubinsky Fund has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Dubinsky Fund has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Dubinsky Fund products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Dubinsky Fund needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund 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 John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Dubinsky Fund is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Dubinsky Fund 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 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 Dubinsky Fund supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Dubinsky Fund vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund 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 Dubinsky Fund has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund, is just above the industry average. Dubinsky Fund 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Dubinsky Fund is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund 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 John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund | 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 John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Dubinsky Fund to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Dubinsky Fund to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Dubinsky Fund is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Dubinsky Fund can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Dubinsky Fund 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 John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Dubinsky Fund to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Dubinsky Fund in the consumer business. Now Dubinsky Fund can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Dubinsky Fund 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. Dubinsky Fund can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Dubinsky Fund in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Dubinsky Fund 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Dubinsky Fund has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Dubinsky Fund to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund case study. Dubinsky Fund can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Dubinsky Fund can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Dubinsky Fund operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
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. Dubinsky Fund 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. Dubinsky Fund 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Dubinsky Fund can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund 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.
Threats John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund 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 Dubinsky Fund.
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 Dubinsky Fund business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Dubinsky Fund
– 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 Dubinsky Fund.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Dubinsky Fund 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.
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 Dubinsky Fund in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Dubinsky Fund 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.
Environmental challenges
– Dubinsky Fund 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. Dubinsky Fund can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Dubinsky Fund is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Dubinsky Fund 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Dubinsky Fund has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Dubinsky Fund needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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 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. Dubinsky Fund can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Dubinsky Fund 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 John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund 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 John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund 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 John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund 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 John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund 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 John Dubinsky and the St. Louis Contractor Loan Fund 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 Dubinsky Fund needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
