SWOT and External Analysis of DMU's Distance Learning Market

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BUSINESS MODEL ANALYSIS 1
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Contents
Part1. Build a SWOT Diagram for DMU’s Distance Learning (DL) Marketplace.........................3
Part 2. Carry out an external situation analysis for DMU's Distance Learning (DL) marketplace
identifying CSFs and KPIs..............................................................................................................6
Part 3. What DMU could do on its website to address issues such as culture and trust and how it
could use online communication tools to reach out to its potential target audience?......................8
References........................................................................................................................................9
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Part1. Build a SWOT Diagram for DMU’s Distance Learning (DL) Marketplace
Introduction
This report is about the SWOT analysis of De Montfort University’s proposal which will offer
more courses to the students of overseas through distance learning.
Strengths
 No limits of physical boundary
 In comparison to the conventional
programs for University as well as for
students, it is economic
 No need for appointing the teaching
faculty members
 No need for establishing the laboratory
 No acceptability fear as the courses is
recognized by UGC and AICTE.
 Competencies of the staff of IT (Kenan.
Et.al, 2013)
Weakness
 Lack of availability of vast books,
journals, resources
 High tech machine exposure is not
possible
 E-learning courses will be developed in
the English language which will be of
no use to the students who know the
different language and are not experts
in English
 E-learning is students centric but the
fact is students are instructor-centric
 Lack of plagiarism tools for monitoring
the student’s assignment quality
(Barak, 2012)
Opportunities
 Any remote learner can be accessed as
there are no geographical boundaries
Threat
 The authenticity of the development of
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 Strong interaction with numerous
students and universities overseas
 Physically challenged students can also
access to study at their home
 By making use of virtual tools, good
and sound goodwill and image can be
created by University
 In the future, more demand may exist
from the remote or employed learner
 Launching of the tailor-made and need-
based program is possible
 Many students are served at a short
time
 More revenue can be generated through
distance learning
 University can emerge as a big brand
with the association of more students
worldwide
 Enhancing the learning and teaching
interactions
 Funding resources may be available
from the external agencies
practical skills may be questioned
 Programs are required to be accredited
with the professional bodies
 At the time of imparting the
development component system and
practical skills, the university can face
lots of odds
 Student-teacher relationship gap may
exist as there is no face-to-face
communication
 Vocational and technical distance mode
product may get less preference as
compared to the contact mode product
 Fluctuation of internet connectivity
 Risk of Face-to-face social interactions
may get reduced
 New technologies challenges
 Cultural issues and habits
 Financial constraints
 Lack of self-regulation and seriousness
among students (Barak, 2012)
Recommendations for overcoming the threats and weakness-
 Ending kit of the laboratory at the home of students
 Conducting experiments of laboratory over the internet
 Internet laboratory experiments with the presence of a virtual teacher
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 For practical or hands-on experience, the time period should be increased at the study
center
 Through formative and summative assessment, performance assessment activity to be
arranged
 Services of students support should be provided in the distance learning by University.
 An affordable technology should be introduced which is affordable both for students and
university
 Distance learning classes should be provided geographical wise means as per the
language recognition and knowledge the students are having (Chen, 2014)
Conclusion
It can be concluded that there are various strengths, weakness, threats, and opportunities that
prevails for the De Montfort University for providing overseas distance learning.
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Part 2. Carry out an external situation analysis for DMU's Distance Learning (DL)
marketplace identifying CSFs and KPIs.
Porter’s five forces Model for distance learning education includes the following-
Threats of new entrants: New entrants by the education and training services in the distance
learning brings innovation and the new ways of doing things which puts pressure on De Montfort
University of lowering its pricing strategy, providing new value propositions and reducing costs.
Bargaining power of supplier: The raw-material is bought by the institutions providing distance
learning from numerous suppliers so there is high supplier bargaining power.
Bargaining power of buyers: Bargaining power of buyers who are students here is high. They
want to have distance learning from the institutions and universities who offer them the best
learning courses at the economic price.
Threats of a substitute: face-to-face education learning is more preferable by the students as it is
more efficient and attractive for them.
Rivalry among the existing customers: There is high competition among the institutions
providing the distance learning education due to which overall profitability of industry gets
reduced and drive down prices (Francis and Martin, 2015).
Critical success factors
 Innovating style of providing distance learning
 Building economies of scale
Key performance indicators
 Service-oriented
 Satisfied students
 Revenue generation from distance learning
 Increased market share
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Objectives
 Increasing the switching cost for students
 Building sustainable differentiation
 Collaborating with the competitors for increasing the share in a market
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Part 3. What DMU could do on its website to address issues such as culture and trust and
how it could use online communication tools to reach out to its potential target audience?
For making its website more trustworthy DMU should be very careful with the ad content which
it is displaying in its website. The domain name should be ensured which warrants respect,
warranties and guarantees should be showed off on website, testimonials, and reviews should be
displayed on the website. Trusted seals like better business bureau accreditation, five-star yelp,
certificate of excellence should be displayed as by this students will feel like trusting on the
university. The website should provide students with the facility of giving their feedback and
suggestions. As the websites are growing in the international market, cultural preferences and
differences in web design are becoming greatly significant because it is not important that the
web page which is designed in one country will be appealing in the other country’s potential
customers. The website should be designed after detailed research of the target audience and the
respective culture. For making it appealing in the international market some of the revisions
should be made with respect to the website. The content of the website should be translated into
different languages and different pictures should be offered and the translation option should also
be made available (Ryan, 2019).
De Montfort University’s advertising manager can use different online communication tools like
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and newsletter for reaching overseas students. Direct mailings and
newsletter can be used which are considered as the most cost-effective and highest return on
investment. Attractive websites can be designed by the University. The website is the
cornerstone of the communication plan race. University should update its blog on a regular basis.
The content to be used in case of the online communication tool should be framed with great
care as a mistake can negatively affect the image of the University resulting in decreasing its
students and the faith of students towards the university is of core value.
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References
 Barak, M., 2012. Distance education: towards an organizational and cultural change in
higher education. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global
Economy, 6(2), pp.124-137.
 Chen, M., 2014. SWOT analysis and strategies to support college physical education
through distance education. World Transactions on Engineering and Technology
Education, 12(4), pp.671-674.
 Francis M. Mathooko, and Martin Ogutu, 2015. "Porter’s five competitive forces
framework and other factors that influence the choice of response strategies adopted by
public universities in Kenya", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 29
Issue: 3, pp.334-354
 Kenan, T., Pislaru, C., Othman, A. and Elzawi, A., 2013. The social impact and cultural
issues affecting the e-learning performance in Libyan Higher Education Institutes.
International Journal of Information Technology & Computer Science, 12(1), pp.50-56.
 Ryan. L., 2019. The Five Most Common Culture Problems -- And Their Solutions.
[Online]. Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2016/08/13/the-five-
most-common-culture-problems-and-their-solutions/#5c8aed9f9bed. [Accessed on 28
March 2019]
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