An Analysis of De Montfort University's Course Expansion Strategy

To maintain a competitive advantage, organisations need to conduct internal and external analysis to identify opportunities and threats. De Montfort University can apply this concept by increasing the number of courses offered and promoting the university globally. This can be achieved through internal analysis of the university's strengths and weaknesses, as well as external analysis of market trends and competitor activity.

Running head: E COMMERCE SYSTEM
E commerce system
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Table of contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Part-A.........................................................................................................................................2
Part-B.........................................................................................................................................4
Part-C.........................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
Reference..................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
The purpose of the assignment is to shed light on the opportunities that De Montfort
University (DMU) have in the field of providing education to the people. The assignment
conducts a SWOT analysis of the University in order to understand the possible prospect of
increasing the number of courses. The assignment also conducts an analysis of the
competitors and changes required in the University by conducting Porter's Five Force
analysis. The ways by which DMU can reach its target audience and address issues related to
trust and culture is also analysed in the assignment.
Part-A
De Montfort University (DMU) is one of the reputed educational institutions in the
UK. The University is situated in Leicester and is known to provide numerous courses to
students across the world. The University was established in 1870 under the name of
Leicester School of Art and gained University status in 1992. The University encourages
students from different cultural backgrounds in order to promote the institution and guarantee
a successful future for the students. It aims to increase the number of courses in order to build
a greater reputation in the country and the world (Dmu.ac.uk 2017). In the light of this
statement, a SWOT analysis is conducted in order to understand the strengths and weakness
of the University. The opportunity that can arise after undertaking the venture is also
analysed along with providing recommendations to mitigate the threats.
Strengths
 Reputation in the UK market
 Organised faculties
 Second highest number of national
Weakness
 Less number of courses offered
 Discrimination in terms of culture
 Lack of technology to conduct

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teaching fellows distance courses
Opportunities
 Increase of global reputation
 Establish branches across the world
 Become highest ranked University in
the region
Threats
 Competition from reputed
Universities
 Newly established in the sector
 Lack of experienced and technical
personnel
Table: SWOT analysis
(Source: Created by author)
According to Bull et al. (2016), SWOT analysis is done in order to evaluate the
internal resources and capabilities that an organisation possesses. The threat that exists from
the outside environment is also analysed in the technique. Based on the SWOT analysis of
DMU, it can be seen that the strength of the institution lies in the fact that it is highly reputed
in the country and in the region of its operation. This fact can help the University to eliminate
any threats in the industry. The increased number of national teaching fellows can help if the
numbers of courses are increased. Thus, in this regard, the global reputation in the world can
increase and it can establish branches all over the world. In the current scenario, the
University is ranked second only to the University of Leicester. One of the biggest
weaknesses of DMU is the fact that it is known to have a bad reputation in discriminating
students as per culture. This can be recommended by maintaining a strict anti-racism policy.
The harmonious existence between the people from all over the world can help in eliminating
the cultural differences. The lack of technology and the lack of expertise can be improved by
the increasing the number of courses that are offered in the University. The fact that it is a
newly established company contributes to the lack of support staff in the establishment.
Initially, it can be done by conducting the courses on campus. With the success of the

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business, the technology and expertise of the University can increase. Despite the fact that
DMU is comparatively new in the educational sector, the success it has gained indicates
higher prospect in the future.
Part-B
According to Grünig and Kühn (2015), analysis of the external environment can help
in the managing any potential threat in the environment. The threats can arise from various
sources that can have a negative impact on business. These threats can be categorised using
Porter’s five forces model. Under this model, the threats from the external environment can
mainly arise from the competitors. Apart from this, buyers, sellers, customers and new
businesses can also provide a threat to the business (Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2013).
However, in the case of an educational institute, all the factors related to the five-force model
can be less applicable.
The threat of buyers is mainly applicable to the organisations that involve in the
manufacturing process. This is because the purchase of resources and materials for making a
product needs to reach the buyers for earning a profit (Mugurel-Alin, 2017). In the case of De
Montfort University, the threat of buyers does not pose a serious threat. This is mainly
because of the fact that the University does not engage itself in purchasing any materials on a
regular basis. The main aim of the University is to provide education to the students and
increase the reputation in the global market. Hence, it can be said that the University does not
have any fear while dealing with threats exerted by the buyers. However, Sekaran and Bougie
(2016), countered this by stating that this can be considered as a threat if the buyers are
considered as the customers of the University. With a limited number of courses that are to be
offered, many students may opt to join a different University. This can lead to a fall in the

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number of students that enrol in courses in the University. In the light of this statement, it can
be said that the threat of suppliers can be considered as low.
The threat of suppliers’ can be high if a manufacturing company does not get the
required amount of materials to manufacture products. This can cause cessation of work or
closure of the organisation (Gomes et al. 2013). In the case of DMU, this threat can be low as
the suppliers cannot be determined in an accurate manner. The University aims at providing
higher education to students all over the world. In the recent years, it has succeeded to bring
people from all over the world and maintain a reputation in the market. However, the threat is
less because students residing in the region close to Leicester can opt for admission in this
University. Apart from this, other factors related to the start and end of academic sessions can
contribute a consistent number of students in DMU. Thus, it can be said that this threat does
not pose any risks for the business.
According to García et al. (2014), the biggest and challenging threat that a business
face is a threat from the competitors. In many ways, the threat from the competitors can have
a significant impact on a business. Every company wants to gain a competitive advantage
over the other in terms of increasing reputation and improving market share. In the case of an
educational institution, this threat can be high. This is because the courses offered by the
institutions are almost similar but varies in terms of skill involved, technology involved,
medium of imparting the education and fee structure of the courses (Disterheft et al. 2015). In
the case of DMU, these threats can also play an important role in hindering the progress of
the University. In this regard, a competitor analysis of DMU can be undertaken. The biggest
threat from competitors that are faced by DMU is from the University of Leicester. This is
because the University has a student endowment of 13.1 million as compared to 1.17 million
of DMU. This is indicative of the fact that The University of Leicester is more superior in
terms of encouraging students to follow courses adopted provided in the institution. In this

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regard, it can be said that the threat from the University of Leicester is high in the education
business.
The threat of substitutes is another factor that can prove a hindrance to businesses.
This is because customers tend to change the preferences if any alternate source is available.
This provides an opportunity to explore new products and choose from the best in the
business (Godemann et al. 2014). In the case of DMU, it is necessary for the University to
ensure that such opportunities are not applicable for the students. The threat of substitutes can
be a huge factor for the University. This may be because of the fact that DMU provides less
number of courses to the students. With a University, that provides the same number of
courses but at a good progress of career growth and opportunities, students may apply to
enrol in it. This may have a significant impact on the growth of DMU and its objective to
improve on the number of courses in the global education environment. In this regard, the
University also need to take into consideration the threats that arise not only from the
competitors but also from the new entrants.
According to Armstrong and Taylor (2014), new industries or organisations can bring
about expertise, talent and a unique technique to complete its work and fulfil its objectives.
Although entry into a new market is difficult, potentially strong companies can establish itself
in a new business market in a short time. However, in the case of De Montfort University,
this threat is less. This is because building an educational institution is a challenging factor in
the market. Gaining the status of a University is another challenging factor that cannot be
mitigated easily. Hence, the new Universities or educational intuitions do not possess the
potential for matching the requirements at an initial stage. Hence, this threat can be
considered as low in the case of DMU. A summary of the threats of the five forces is
provided in the diagram.

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Figure: Porter’s five-force analysis
(Source: Godemann et al. 2014)
After analysing Porter’s five-force model, it can be said that DMU needs to formulate
its objectives based on the level of threat that arises in the educational business. It can be seen
that the threats arising from suppliers and new entrants are low. Buyers provide a medium
threat to the University. However, the threats from competitors and substitutes are high
owing to the level of competitiveness and factors that exist in the educational market. In this
regard, it can be said that the objective of the University can be reframed and made in order
to mitigate the high threats in the market. The objectives of DMU include:
 To increase the number of courses in order to increase revenue
 To reduce the course fee in order to attract more students to enrol in the University
 To recruit talented professors with specialised skills
 To expand itself in the global market and encourage students to visit the institution

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In the light of this statement, it can be said that in order to achieve the objectives, it is
necessary that DMU needs to change certain factors that can help in the fulfilment of the
goals. One of the main analyses that need to be done by the University is the analysis of the
critical success factors. The University needs to analyse the elements that can lead it to attain
success. The recruitment of skilful professors is one such element that can help DMU to
achieve its objectives. According to Zou et al. (2014), the use of the critical success, factors
are important in order to analyse the potential ways by which success can be attained. In this
regard, it can be said that changes in the University are also required in order to attain the
objectives.
Waddell et al. (2013) stated that in changes in the organisational structure or policy
can help it to mitigate any challenges and ensure that the organisation operates in a smooth
manner. In this regard, the DMU needs to change certain facilities that may give it a
competitive advantage over the rivals. This can be done by identifying the key performance
areas that are needed to be improved in the organisation. The key performance area is the part
of an organisation skill or policy that needs to be analysed and properly executed in case of
any discrepancies (Zwetsloot 2014). Thus, the analysis of the competitors can lead to the
analysis of the factors that hinder progress in the organisation. In the case of DMU, the
change needs to be done in terms of the technology. The technical manner by which the
University can impart distance education by increasing the number, of course, needs to be
done in an effective manner. This signifies the level at which the University needs to improve
itself. Another issue that DMU faced was the cultural discrimination that was seen on the
campus. This is another change that needs to be maintained by the University (Bai and Sarkis
2014).

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Part-C
In order to mitigate issues arising from culture or trust factors, DMU needs to ensure
that the website of the University provides a clear indication about the cultural factors that are
practised in the University. According to Day, Crown and Ivany (2017), one of the biggest
reasons for the change in the University is the fact that people are of the perception that the
University is full of cultural biases. This perception has resulted in the lack of trust on the
enrollment in the University. People particular from Asia have provided negative views about
the culture in the University. These issues can be solved by not only providing it on the
website but also adopting the anti-cultural discrimination policy on the premises. Thus, the
trust and cultural issues faced by the University can be solved by adopting these policies
(Kranz 2016).
In order to promote itself to the outside world, DMU needs to target customers based
on the courses it provides. According to Grant (2016), proper communication is required in
order to address the target audience and create awareness among them. For this reason, it is
necessary that the University maintain proper communication tools. One such medium of
communication is the social media. In the modern days, social media plays an important role
in the promotion of business. DMU can use this technique in order to spread the courses to its
target audience. The target audience for the University is the students pursuing higher
education in various fields. Hence, it is important for the managers of DMU to take assistance
from social media in order to advertise its courses to the public all around the world
(Hollensen 2015). The use of advertisements in the region of business can also help the
University to spread awareness about the changes made in the course.

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Conclusion
Thus, it can be said that in order to maintain a competitive advantage, every
organisation needs to maintain an internal as well as an external analysis. Changes need to be
brought in order to mitigate any threats that arise in the business. In the case of De Montfort
University, such analysis needs to be applied in order to understand the possibilities of
increasing the number of courses in the University. It can also help in promoting the
University to the countries all over the world.

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