OGL 355 Leading Organizational

Innovation and Change:

SWOT Analysis
Objectives:
1. Define SWOT Analysis.
2. Complete a SWOT Analysis Table.
3. Demonstrate understanding of each SWOT Element as it relates to your Case Study.

Complete the following and turn in as a team assignment. There is no need to create any other
document, just complete this one, save as, and post for your team. Everyone earns the same
grade unless consequences of non-participation are enacted (see Worksheet 1b, #2). Make sure to
support your ideas, cite from the textbook, other course materials, and your research per APA
guidelines and as necessary. Minimums are set to ensure support for your discussion, while most
responses will need some type of support to add strength and validity. It is important to cite
definitions, and to earn Excellent the ideas need to be supported with source too. These
responses need to be based in some fact, not just the team’s opinion.

1) What is a SWOT Analysis?

a. Write your answer here. Please provide at least 5 sentences with at least
one source to earn excellent.

A SWOT analysis is the process of analyzing a company using a four-section

matrix that consists of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The study
can be broken down into two parts: an external and internal analysis of the
organization and market (Coulter, 2013, p.57). The external analysis consists of
the opportunities defined as “ positive external trends and changes that may help
an organization improve its performance”. The other half of the external analysis
takes a look at the threats which are the unfavorable trends that could give the
organization unwanted setbacks (Coulter, 2013, p. 92). Contrary to the first part,
the strengths and weaknesses focus on the internal resources and capabilities of a
company that is easier to change and optimize to improve a company’s success.
This analysis puts attention on the resources and capabilities to understand the
sustainable competitive advantages a company has developed while identifying
underperforming ones (Coulter, 2013).
 Once completed, a SWOT analysis can be used in strategic planning.

2) Complete the below SWOT Analysis Table with short 1-3 word phrases
Strengths [Internal] Weaknesses [Internal]
● List 4 ● List 4

1. Brand 1. Founder Dependence

2. 100% Model 2. Website security
3. Unique Fundraising Strategies 3. Internal controls
4. Marketing 4. Financial stability

Opportunities [External Influence] Threats [External Influence]

● List 4 ● List 4

1. Technological Development 1. Water availability

2. Grant Funding 2. Inflation
3. Population Served Feedback 3. Competitor media access
4. Media Outlets 4. Political/military conflict

3) List why the team has chosen two of the strength selections with at least 1
source to earn excellent, with other support as needed per APA Guidelines.

a. Brand
The most significant strength that charity: water possesses is its well-
known brand name. They have perfected the art of encouraging individuals to
develop personal relationships with their company's brand. Building an internet
platform that enables individuals to establish fundraising campaigns that are
related to personal events, such as marathons, holidays, or birthdays, is one of the
most effective ways in which they have accomplished this goal. charity: water has
been able to magnify its message and reach audiences that it otherwise could not
have reached through collaborating with prominent companies and celebrities.
These companies and celebrities not only discuss the charitable organization on
 their websites, videos, and social media channels, but they also sell merchandise
that has the organization's name and logo (Patel, n.d,).

b. 100% Model
The 100% Model that charity: water uses, sets them apart from other
charitable organizations. charity: water makes a commitment to the general public
that every single dollar contributed to the organization will be used to support
water projects directly. This has been the case ever since the organization's
establishment in 2006. Donors can make contributions with the confidence that
100% of the funds will be used to accomplish the charity's mission of providing
clean water to those in need wherever they may be in the world (charity: water,
2023).

4) List why the team has chosen two of the weakness selections with at least 1
source to earn excellent, with other support as needed per APA Guidelines.

a. Weakness 1 - “Dependence on founder” is the greatest weakness for

charity: water because the organization is completely dependent on the founder,
Scott Harrison, and his compelling story, to motivate people to align with their
mission and provide funding. As the face of charity: water, Scott Harrison is
charismatic and charming, and should he ever fall from grace, or pass away, the
brand could meet its demise (Charitable Allies, n.d.). One of the reasons Scott
Harrison’s story is so compelling is because he is an American success story as he
turned his life around, after a shameful past, and used his skills to create an
empire that has improved the quality of life for millions of people. When a
founder with this kind of legacy dies, it often leads organizations into great
turmoil. “Even years after a founding entrepreneur's death, most firms show no
sign of recovering (Uzialko, 2023).

b. Weakness 2 - “Website security” is one of the top internal weaknesses for

charity: water because this is paramount in protecting donor data and is within the
control of the organization. Non-profits are particularly vulnerable because
website security and data protection are areas non-profits often fall short on
(Cause Labs, 2023). Hybrid work environments, where staff are working from
home, and increased information technology (IT) sophistication “increases the
need to focus on cyber security and the resilience of IT systems and infrastructure,
which are relied upon to safeguard information and data, and to maintain business
continuity” (Rao, 2021).
5) List why the team has chosen two of the opportunity (external influence on
the organization, not something the organization would initiate) selections with at
least 1 source to earn excellent, with other support as needed per APA Guidelines.
a. Technological Development
Technological development is the top opportunity because, according to
Foster et al. journal submission on the functionality of water hand pumps in sub-
Saharan Africa and Asia-Pacific regions, it is confirmed that there were 175,000
pumps out of order in 2015 with no way to service them (Foster et al., 2019).
These are the same areas widely serviced today by charity: water (charity: water,
2023). The failing water pumps led to the continual development of water sensor
technology at charity: water. Sue-Lynn Hinson’s article on the CISCO blog cites
the 2015 release of the non-profit’s India Mark II sensor, a first-of-its-kind
technology (Hinson, 2022).

b. Grant Funding
Grant funding provides extensive opportunities for non-profit
organizations like charity: water. An example of a grant funding opportunity is
the Cisco Foundation, the philanthropic arm of CISCO, which partners with and
awards grants to nonprofit organizations providing global solutions to
underserved populations. Their goal is to service one billion people by 2025
through various financial and product grant programs awarded to their partners
(Cisco, 2023). The foundation's vision opened the opportunity for charity: water
to develop, test, and implement their latest and most sustainable water sensor, the
India Mark II (Hinson, 2022).

6) List why the team has chosen two of the threat selections with at least 1
source to earn excellent, with other support as needed per APA Guidelines.
a. Water Availability
Water availability is a threat in that project costs are significantly different
for the different types of water solutions, which impacts the number of projects
that can be completed. charity: water does its due diligence in selecting project
locations based on factors such as geography, assessment of need, community
participation, and long-term sustainability (charity: water: Non-Profit organization
for Clean and Safe Water, n.d.). They will only begin a project if the water
solution is sustainable in order to preserve their financial resources for where they
can make a long-term difference. A gravity-fed system piping water in from
another area (low water availability) will have a significantly higher cost due to
the amount of pipe and other materials involved than hand digging a well in the
center of a village (high water availability). While areas with low water
availability likely have greater need, the same budget may complete multiple
projects in areas where water availability is less difficult, ultimately helping more
people.

b. Inflation
Due to inflation, charity: water’s ability to initiate water solutions
becomes diminished. If material costs raise the budget of each project to
significantly more than it has been up to this point, charity: water will need to
scale back the number of projects enacted, ultimately lessening their philanthropic
impact. The National Association of Home Builders, based on information from
the Producer Price Index report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, stated
in mid-2022 that material costs had risen 19.2% over the same time in 2021 and
had risen 35.6% since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 (Logan, 2022).
CRBE said in their 2022 report that inflation and supply chain issues were the
cause for these price increases. Even if inflation levels stabilize, material costs
for items such as stainless steel will continue to rise due to supply issues caused
by the Russia/Ukraine conflict (CRBE, 2023).

References
Cause Labs (2023). Protecting Your Non-profit Website from Hackers. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
https://www.causelabs.com/post/protecting-your-nonprofit-website-from-hackers/

charity: water. GuideStar. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2023, from

https://www.guidestar.org/profile/22-3936753

charity: water – How We Work. (2023). Retrieved July 7, 2023, from

How We Work - Clean Water Projects | charity: water (charitywater.org)

Cisco. (2023, June 23). Nonprofit Partnerships and grant programs. Cisco.
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/about/csr/community/nonprofits.html

Coulter, M. K. (2013). Strategic management in action (6th ed). New York, NY. Pearson.

Foster, T., Furey, S., Banks, B., & Willetts, J. (2019). Functionality of Handpump Water
Supplies: A review of data from sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.
International Journal of Water Resources Development, 36(5), 855–869.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2018.1543117
Hinson, S.-L. (2022, March 22). Corporate Social Responsibility: How this IoT device from
charity: water could advance water access for billions [web log]. Retrieved July 16, 2023,
from https://blogs.cisco.com/csr/how-this-iot-device-from-charity-water-could-advance-
water-access-for-billions.
Logan, D. (2022, May 12).Building Materials Prices Move Higher, Up 19% Year-over-Year.
National Association of Home Builders. Retrieved July 17, 2023, from
https://eyeonhousing.org/2022/05/building-materials-prices-move-higher-up-19-year-
over-year/
National Council of Nonprofits (2023). Internal Controls for Nonprofits. Retrieved July 14,
2023, https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/running-nonprofit/administration-and-
financial-management/internal-controls-nonprofits

Patel, N. (n.d.). Nine Valuable Marketing Lessons From a Nonprofit – Charitywater.org.

Retrieved July 15, 2023, from https://neilpatel.com/blog/marketing-lessons-from-
charitywater/

Rao, P. (2021, January 28). The top 10 risks facing the charity sector for 2021. Retrieved July
18, 2023, from https://www.grantthornton.co.uk/insights/the-top-10-risks-facing-the-
charity-sector-in-2021/

Uzialko, A. (2023, February 21). When Founders Die, Businesses Suffer. Business News Daily.
Retrieved July 18, 2023, from https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4016-founder-death-
spurs-business-decline.html