The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame?
In January 2012, the Jane Addams Hull House Association--one of Chicago's largest and oldest social service agencies and arguably its most iconic--announced that it might have to close in the spring due to financial difficulties. Just days later, the 122-year-old organization stunned the philanthropic world when it laid off its employees without notice, declared its intention to liquidate in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and shut its doors forever. In the weeks that followed, more and more people began to ask: What had happened to the board? Had bankruptcy really been inevitable? This case chronicles the organization's final decade and enables students to step into the shoes of the chairman of the board, Steve Saunders, as he led the board through its last two years. Students will examine the roles and responsibilities of effective boards and determine how internal and external factors contributed to Hull House's demise.
Swot Analysis of "The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame?" written by Anne Cohn Donnelly, Charlotte Snyder includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hull Addams facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Crisis management, Leadership, Organizational culture, Social enterprise, Strategic planning and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hull Addams, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hull Addams 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 The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hull Addams
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 Hull Addams
Strengths The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hull Addams in The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hull Addams 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 The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Hull Addams is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hull Addams to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hull Addams to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Hull Addams 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)
– Hull Addams 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 The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Hull Addams 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 Hull Addams is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Hull Addams has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hull Addams to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Hull Addams in the sector have low bargaining power. The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Hull Addams to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Hull Addams
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hull Addams does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Hull Addams has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Hull Addams is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? 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 Hull Addams 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.
Weaknesses The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? 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 The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hull Addams is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Hull Addams, firm in the HBR case study The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame?, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame?, in the dynamic environment Hull Addams has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hull Addams has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame?, it seems that the employees of Hull Addams don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Hull Addams 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hull Addams is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Hull Addams needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hull Addams to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Hull Addams 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame?, is just above the industry average. Hull Addams 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Hull Addams 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Anne Cohn Donnelly, Charlotte Snyder suggests that, Hull Addams 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 The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? | 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 The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? are -
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 Hull Addams in the consumer business. Now Hull Addams can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Hull Addams 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hull Addams is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hull Addams 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Hull Addams can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hull Addams to increase its market reach. Hull Addams 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Hull Addams has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Hull Addams to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? case study. Hull Addams can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Hull Addams 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.
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 Hull Addams 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Hull Addams 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Hull Addams 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 Hull Addams to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Hull Addams 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, The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hull Addams can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hull Addams operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Threats The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hull Addams in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Hull Addams 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.
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. Hull Addams needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame?, Hull Addams 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 .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hull Addams 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Hull Addams 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. Hull Addams can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hull Addams can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Hull Addams is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Hull Addams business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Hull Addams
– 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 Hull Addams.
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. Hull Addams can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? 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 The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? 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 The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? 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 The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? 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 The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame? 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 Hull Addams needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
Feel free to connect with us if you need business research.
You can download Excel Template of Case Study Solution & Analysis of The Demise of the Jane Addams Hull House Association: Internal or External Factors to Blame?