Strategic position analysis
An analysis of the market for mediation and conciliation services in the North East of England
The region of North-East England is made of the county districts of Durham, Northumberland, Tees Valley, Tyne and Wear and North Yorkshire. There are several mediation and reconciliation centers located in this region. Unite Ltd happens to be one of them. It is important to undertake a market analysis of its competitors in order to shed light on the situation of the mediation and reconciliation industries in this region.
According to (Kress et al 1994), a market analysis of an organization often involves taking the inventory of such an organization, its workforce, expansion facilities, and the promotional activities in place. In the case of charitable organizations, a market analysis helps to measure the level of competitors in the market. There are already several competitors that offers mediation and reconciliation services in the North -East England region, and these tends to compete with Unite ltd.
One of these organizations is the mediation centre at St Mary’s Grove Stratford. The mediation centre has extended its operations to include West Midlands, where the organization offers publicly and privately sponsored mediation sessions. In addition, the same services are also offered at the organization’s main offices in Stratford, as well as its outputs in Lichfileld and Hanly (North 2008).
Relate is yet another organization that has over the years extended its operations to various regions in the United Kingdom. In 2007, the organization offered services to over 150,000 clients. According to available statistics from the organization, 66 percent of the individuals who have benefited from the counselling session offered by the organization have managed to save their relationships (Relate 2008).
Action for Children is yet another organization that offers mediation services, especially to children below the age of 18 years. The organization also helps smooth relationships between the children and their parents. In addition, the organization manages over 500 projects that seek to assist more than 178,000 vulnerable children, including young people, as well as their parents (Action for children 2008).
During the 2005/06 financial year, Action for Children reportedly had a turnover of 210 million pounds. Out of this amount, 18 million pounds is believed to have been raised courtesy of donations from volunteers, while the remainder was sourced from government bodies (Action for children 2008).
Bliss Mediation was established in 1996 as a family mediation services provider. With over 12years experience, the organisation that attained its charitable organisation status in 1998 is committed to ensuring that social development is attained within the community (Bliss Mediation Services 2009). The organisation, through its competent staff, offers mediation services to parents and their children, as well as helping and assisting parents whose children have been afflicted with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). These dispute settlement sessions are offered free of charge to the community members
Competitor’s analysis of Unite ltd
Children society
The children’s society gives care and support to forgotten children, and who would otherwise find it difficult to seek help from elsewhere. Children’s society offers assistance to those children who may be experiencing trouble with the law. This includes the victims of bullying, deprivation, and violence. These actions have been shown to lead to children committing crimes (Children society, 2008). The society is committed to seeking out a lasting solution to the problem facing these victims.
Strengths
The collaborative efforts of the organizations partnering with the society have led to them committing both human and financial resources towards enabling of this project to succeed. Furthermore, the society has exhibited strong support for children of all walks of life, be they refugees who have sought asylum in the United Kingdom, or citizens of the UK (Children society, 2008). Moreover, the society has managed to solicit for funds from the government, local authorities and well wishers.
Weaknesses
In as much as the Children’s society may wish to help all the vulnerable children in the United Kingdom, some children are not reached by their services. Additionally, the service providers are usually pressed for time, meaning that even though they reach hundreds of thousands of needy children, a similar number also goes unattended (Children society, 2008).
The amount of funding they receive is insufficient to take care of all the needy children. The problem is compounded by poor access to the rural areas, meaning that the vulnerable children in these areas are not reached in time (Children society, 2008).
St Mary’s Family mediation (Middlesbrough)
The family mediation center at St Mary’s, Middlesbrough came into being in 1980, as a registered charity organization. The organization is charged with the responsibility of offering mediation services and support for parents, couples, children and adults, as well as counseling services for children.
Strengths
The family mediation center at St Mary’s, Middlesbrough has been awarded with a quality mark by the legal services commission in recognition for the exemplary work that it has done for the community in terms of mediation for couples filing for divorce, between children and their parents, amongst adults, and also by offering counselling to children (Families Talking, 2009). Besides, the organization operations are within the scope of the code of practice of the National Family Mediation (NFM).
In terms of coverage, the organization has been able to adequately coffer its services at the area of Tees Valley. At the offices located in Middlesbrough, the organization is able to hold regular appointments for its clients. Similar appointments are also held in Peterlee, Darlington, Stockton, Hartlepool, Guisborough and Redcar (Families Talking, 2009).
The mediation services that St Mary’s family mediation offers are tailored to suit the need of an individual. As such, each and every client is treated as a special case, and this works out to have satisfied clients. Furthermore, the services that the organization offers are quite cost-effective (Families Talking, 2009), when compared with those of their competitors.
There is also the issue of efficiency. However, this does not mean that cases are often hurried, but rather, they are accomplished within a stipulated timescale. With regard to mediation services between parents and their children, the organization ensures that a lasting agreement is established between parents and their children. Besides, the organization boasts of mediators that are both qualified and professionals in their areas of specialization.
Weaknesses
Owing to lack of sufficient funds, the organization has not been able to achieve a wide coverage as it would have wished. This therefore means that clients who would have otherwise been in a position to benefits from their services ends up not getting them. Furthermore, there is also a shortage with regard to the support staff for the organization (Families Talking, 2009), thereby making the provision of mediation and counselling services quite difficult
Relate
Relate has over the year established itself to become the biggest sex therapy and relationship provider in the United Kingdom. In addition, the organization also provides several services that augment relationships. For this reason, people of all walks of life seek assistance from Relate (North, 2008).
These are the individuals’ who are committed to mending the rifts in their relationships, in order to establish harmony and stability. In 2007, the organization handled a total of 150,000 clients (North, 2008).
Strengths
The organization has become a preference centre for a majority of people thanks to its use of the latest in information technology. As a result, their services are usually timely, and to the convenience of their clients. With more than 600 locations in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, the organization has strategically positioned itself to serve its clientele (North, 2008).
Service provision is usually by the use of phones, as well as online. A face-to-face communication is also encouraged. Relate is not just a service provider for the married. Their relationship services extend to include those between different family members, as well as friends.
Weakness
The number of couples, individuals and families that are in need of relationship counselling and sex therapy is rapidly rising in the United Kingdom. At the same time, the amount of financial resources and personnel that the organization has set aside does not rise in tandem with these needs.
Bliss
Bliss is a charity organization that is committed to the provision of care to sick and prematurely born babies. Their service cuts across the whole of the United Kingdom. In addition, Bliss provides valuable information and guidance during a very critical time in the lives of families; when they are faced with a pregnancy, with a possibility of the child needing special care (Bliss, 2008).
Strengths
Bliss has entered into collaboration with neonatal nurses, midwives, obstetricians, neonatologists, and health visitors. All these professionals have immensely helped the organization to afford good care to both the premature and sick babies (Bliss, 2008).
Furthermore, Bliss through its innovative project of caring for children, seeks to augment the work of these professionals with whom they collaborate with. This is also aimed at having a positive impact towards the caring and support of babies that require specialized attention (Bliss, 2008).
Weaknesses
With the number of the unborn babies who may require specialized attention at birth increasing every year, Bliss is almost overwhelmed with the rise in these children. Their campaign efforts on raising awareness about the prevalence of vulnerable children in the UK have been hampered by a lack of resources. The organization thus lacks the financial muscle to penetrate the remotest parts of the UK where further vulnerable children are likely to be found (Bliss, 2008).
Action for children (NCH)
The organization for ‘Action for Children’ is dedicated to ensuring that the most vulnerable children as well as young people living in the united kingdom are able to overcome inequality, injustice, and deprivation with a view to enabling them achieve their full potential (Action for children, 2008).
This organization is a strong believer in the enormous potential possessed by young people, and thus the need to help these. On an annual basis, the organization offers assistance to more that 170,000 children, teenagers and their family members in the almost 450 centers that are located all over the United Kingdom (Action for children, 2008).
Strengths
NCH is actively involved in enhancing the conditions of both young people and children, in all the areas they participate in. Moreover the organization has engaged itself in a string off campaigns that are aimed at seeking assistance for both young people and vulnerable children; thanks to its wide coverage in the whole of the UK (Action for children, 2008).
Weaknesses
NCH faces constraints with respect to the income that it is able to mobilize in order to implement its program. The organization is also faced with a shortage of both working staff and volunteers; hence it does not perform to its maximum capacity (Action for children, 2008).
Bliss Mediation
As an organisation that is concerned with the provision of mediation services, Bliss has witnessed a tremendous growth ever since its inception in 1996. Initially, the organisation was started with a view to providing mediation services to the community members of the Blyth valley, and the organisation was finally granted the status of a charitable organisation in 1998.
Today, the organisation seeks to help the communities as well as individual members of families with settling of the various disputes that they could be having (Bliss Mediation Services, 2009).
On top of that, Bliss Mediation Services is committed to the provision of impartial and independent services to the community that it provides on free-term basis. Besides, Bliss has also worked with children that are confronted with the problem of anger management, so that they are in a position to manage their anger and get along well with their members of the family, their fellow colleagues, as well as the community (Bliss Mediation Services, 2009).
Furthermore, those children afflicted with the Attention Deficit Hyper activity Disorder (ADHD) also benefits from the services of Bliss, thanks to a system of one-on-one caching that has been implemented by the organisation towards this end (Bliss Mediation Services, 2009). Moreover, those parents whose children have fallen victim to ADHD are also offered assistance and support so that they are better able to cope with the situation in other words, the aim of Bliss mediation services is to utilise family mediation with a view to enhancing the dynamics within families.
Strengths
As a mediation service organisation, Bliss has been up and running for close to 12 years, within which time they have managed to curve out a niche as professional family mediators, thanks to the efforts of a qualified and professional workforce who gives themselves selflessly to the course of the organisation. In addition, Bliss offer a training course on community mediation to would-be community mediators, and this is an added value to the community (Bliss Mediation Services, 2009). While community volunteers undertake this course without incurring any costs, nevertheless those providers and organizations that may wish to enrol in this course are often expected to contribute 550 pounds per individual.
This is a course that has also been accredited by the Open Network of the College of North East that also offers the credits. Another way through which Bliss has managed to enhance social development amongst the members of the community is through its sports skills project that was started in the February of 2006. It does this by way of facilitating in football coaching techniques.
Weaknesses
Although Bliss has established itself as a family mediation service organisation of repute, nevertheless it has not managed to expand its operations far and wide, mainly as a result of financial constraints, seeing that the organisation offers its services free of charge (Bliss Mediation Services, 2009), and so it relies on well-wishers and its own initiative to mobilise funds.
Conclusion
Unite Ltd acts as a center for resolving disputes amongst different members of a community. Its scope of coverage includes amongst others, the resolving of disputes involving work colleagues, neighbours, the homeless, young people, victims of offenders, the old, individuals of diverse cultures, as well as the disputes that may evolve between the providers of health care on the one hand, and patients together with their families on the other.
As such, the organization appears to have a diversified coverage of virtually all the areas that their competitors are involved in. In this regard, Unite Ltd faces competition in the provision of their services from a number of other charity organizations.
These include family mediation, children’s society, Bliss, NCH and Relate. One of the weaknesses of Unite ltd is that they have not yet capitalized on the plight of the unborn and the most vulnerable babies. This has ensured that one of their competitors, Bliss, has taken charge of this group, hence curving itself a niche in the market.
As such, the parents who have babies that require specialized care often turn to Bliss for help. In addition, Relate, another organization that supports the resolving of conflicts, has specialized in providing their services to individuals within a relationship, in particular married couples. Their strength then comes in the form of a specialized service package that targets a specific group.
Porter’s five forces for Unite Ltd’s competitors
Porter’ “five forces’ are those elements of an industry that helps in the definition of how attractive such an industry is. The five forces are also a pointer to the competitive intensity that may be experienced by the various players in the industry (Porter, 1985).
The five forces include rivalry threats, substitute product threats, threat as a result of new entrants, customer bargaining power, and the suppliers bargaining power.
Rivalry threats
According to (Porter, 1985), markets that are profitable will also yield higher returns, and this tends to draw new firms into the market. As more entrants gets into the market, the profit margins in the market decrease. Nevertheless, there exists’ barriers to entry in the mediation and reconciliation industry.
However, these entry barriers have not been high enough to discourage other entrants into the market. As of now, Unite Ltd is facing competition from such other firms as Relate, Children’s society, Action for Children and the mediation center at St Mary’s Grove Stratford.
All Unite Ltd rivals are charitable organizations, and their capital requirements are not as dear as those of most commercial organizations. Government policies also tend to relax the requirements for charitable organizations, and this is a further boost to the entrance into the market of new rivals.
Competitive rivalry intensity
For a majority of industries, the intensity of the competitive rivalry is the yardstick to the level of competitiveness that can be expected in such an industry (Grant 2005). Currently, Unite Ltd is faced with five significant competitors in the market. Even so, there is diversity in the industry, with some competitors such as the Children’s society and Action for children opting to focus on the assistance of vulnerable children as their core business. On the other hand, Bliss targets the unborn, as well as newly born children; who are in need of special medical care. Relate conversely specializes more with relationships amongst couples and families.
St Mary’s Family mediation (Middlesbrough) provides comprehensive mediation and counselling between parents who are on the verge of getting a divorce, between parents and their children, amongst adults as well as counselling services to children below the age of 18 years.
Exit barrier from the industry are not high as there are no specialized assets to sell making exit cost low; also rivals do not aggressively compete to drive each other out of business. They all fight for a common course, and their main distinguishing factor is the innovative ways they use to fain sponsorship for their projects from donors.
Substitute product threat
In the event that two parties do not agree with each other, then mediation and reconciliation is the option that is most open to them. However should this not appear to work for the parties involved, their alternative choice is to seek the services of a solicitor and courts. Courts of law, with respect to mediation and reconciliation could be seen as the substitute service.
This is not a serious threat to the industry. In reality, there is a lot of collaboration between the courts of law and the mediation centers. A lot of the beneficiaries of the mediation services have also been satisfied with the services that they receive. The court system is costly both in terms of time and finances.
In addition, it does not fully resolves the conflict, as no mutual agreement is reached amongst the feuding parties. Moreover there is a high level of differentiated products amongst the organizations that offer mediation and reconciliation services, and this means that the various categories of individuals, get their needs addressed differently.
Customers bargaining power
This refers to the fact that customers are capable of putting a given firm under pressure. In effect, the bargaining power of customers has been shown to impact on the sensitivity off customers to change in prices (Porter 1985). Where there are supplementary buyers for each competing organization, such buyers tend to have a bargaining leverage, as well as flexible switching costs.
In this regard, the differential advantage of an individual industry is what keeps a firm competitive. Customers who are seeking mediation and reconciliation services also want to have leverage in the firm that offers this service.
Supplier bargaining power
The bargaining power of the organizations in the mediation and reconciliation industry is the nature of the services that they offer. The uniqueness and innovativeness of such services is normally viewed as a source of power for a particular organization (Grant, 2005). For example, the family mediation organization at Middlesbrough offers very affordable mediation and counselling services to its members (Families Talking, 2009).
Identification of the main revenue streams of Unite Ltd competitors
There are various ways through which Unite Ltd competitor are able to raise the necessary revenues to implement the many projects that they are involved in.
Bliss
Bliss organizes cycling competitions to help raise funds that go towards the care and support of premature and sick babies. In addition, the fund also assists in undertaking innovative research, as well as numerous campaigns aimed at facilitating the provision of improved quality of the care given to vulnerable babies in hospitals (Bliss, 2008). Bliss has also opened a website ‘justgiving’ through which charity funds could be channelled.
From 2001 to-date, Bliss has managed to raise 357 million pounds in terms of charity, thanks to the website. Funds are also made available by annual member subscription to the ‘Candis Club. Moreover, Bliss publishes a magazine ‘Little bliss’ and the resulting revenues are used to assist in the care and support of vulnerable babies (Bliss, 2008).
Action for children
The organization raises its revenue mainly through donations from organizations, government agencies and well wishers. In addition, the organization liaises with schools, churches and individual groups to hold fundraising events at these schools, with the proceeds being channelled towards the organization’s capital (Action for children, 2008).Further, the organization also operates a program called ‘leave a legacy’. Here, a donor may decide to allocate a given share of their will to one or more children supported by the organization.
St Mary’s Family mediation (Middlesbrough)
Considering that most of the services offered are extremely affordable (Families Talking, 2009) – sometimes as much as half what they are supposed to cost- the organisation has no choice but to depend on the contributions by well wishers; both individual and the corporate world, to fund its operations. In addition, the local authorities and the government too have recognised the exemplary work that this organisation plays in the community, and so they have also made their financial and material contribution to organisation whenever they can.
Children’s society
Donations are the primary form of finance that sustains the Children’s society. There is various ways through which well wishers could make their donations to the organization. One of these ways is legacies. Currently, will-related gifts accounts for close to 40 percent of the overall voluntary income that the organization raises (Children’s society, 2008).
Further, the organization has also lunched a ‘donations in memory pack’. A ‘flowers and future’ website has also been launched to augment this package. This package is the foundation for the creation of a memorial fund in the remembrance of a loved one, with the proceeds helping to assist other children within the organization.
It is also possible for donors with a salary to contribute towards the organization through a scheme known as ‘payroll giving’. The donations are effectively deducted from the salary upon notification to the bank, which liaises with the children’s society (Children’s society, 2008).
Relate
To generate revenue, Relate has made it possible for willing donors to make their contribution to the organization through various ways. First, a donor could make their donations online by way of a debit or credit card, or through the use of ‘PayPal’. Additionally, it is possible to make donations through the post or the option of donating through a will legacy (Relate, 2008).
Bliss Mediation
As a family mediation services organisation, Bliss partly relies proceeds from the various training courses that it offers to would-be community mediators to support its operations. This is in addition to the larger portion of the financial assistance that the organisation gets from the well-wishers (Bliss Mediation Services 2009), who utilises the paypal services to make donations of 10 pounds and upwards.
Bibliography
- Action for children (2008). Web.
- Bliss (2008). Web.
- Bliss Mediation Services (2009). Web.
- Children society (2008).
- Families Talking (2009).
- Grant, R.M, 2005, Contemporary Strategy Analysis Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
- Kress George, Webb, Taryn & Snyder, John. Forecasting and market analysis techniques: a practical approach. Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 1994.
- North, J, 2008, Relate: the difference that we make.
- Porter, M, 1985, Competitive Advantage. New York: The Free Press.