Akhuwat University Force Field Analysis

Introduction
In the analysis of external and internal environment of Akhuwat University, besides SWOT and PESTEL, force field analysis is going to play an important role. Why Force Field Analysis for Akhuwat: All the others tools of environmental scanning are evaluating either the external or internal settings. They do not provide a reason and logic of the decision that is going to take place. In the case of force field analysis for Akhuwat, we are trying to root the decision of making this university on logical basis and hence the decisions to whether carry out or abandon the project will be recommended at the end of analysis. What is the current Status? Akhuwat foundation is one of the leading microfinance institutions in Pakistan which charges interest free loans to the poor and underprivileged class who cannot afford to pay the high interest rates of the banks. The Idea of Akhuwat University is on the same establishment. The task is to create a free of cost world Class University for the neglected poor talent of Pakistan. If we consider the current situation of Akhuwat University, the idea is still cooking and on the final terms on the basis of Strategy. However our special emphasis will be on the marketing side of funding, which we are supposed to start from the scratch. So in consideration with our objective, our current situation is described as, Currently we have zero funds in the Akhuwat university account and no formal concerns from perspective donors

What is the Desired State? On the funding side of the university, we have narrowed down out time horizon to five years, the time by which the university is supposed to be fully operational. By that time, we should be having enough funds to not only start the university but also make it operational by all means so that the project is self perpetuating. In the perspective of the above objective the desired state is, Positively market the university in such a way that by the end of next 5 years a minimum of 10 Billion PKR is collected from various (Approved/Acceptable) donors, excluding the current donor portfolio.

Different Forces
The following Paragraph lists different driving and restraining forces which are applicable in the current scenario.

Driving Forces Akhuwat Traditions, Values and norms Relationship Enhancement Better attitude of people towards Akhuwat Desire for free Education International visibility Desire for a world class institution in Lahore Providing quality Human Capital to Pakistan Easy Accessibility to Talent due to the established name of Akhuwat

Restraining Forces Current Available Resources Limitation in organization structure of Akhuwat HEC/other agencies regulations/ Narrow (Acceptable) donor base Institutional policies for fund generation High costs Well Established Competition Acquisition of expensive Human resource including faculty Contracted Time limit for fund generation

Driving Forces
Akhuwat Traditions, Values and norms
Akhuwat puts forward in its vision statement,
A poverty free society built on the principles of compassion and equity.

The making of free international level university is in line with the vision of Akhuwat. The diversification of Akhuwat foundation into the education sector with its mission intact is the most important driving factor that will encompass a broader range of audience in its vision.

Relationship Enhancement
By making an international class university in Lahore and making collaborations with top universities of Pakistan will enhance the image of Akhuwat foundation as a whole which not only will broader its Donor base but will also project its mission to larger mass of the nation.

Better attitude of people towards Akhuwat

By making collaborations and attracting larger customer base, the Akhuwat foundation as a whole will enhance its image in the eyes of the general public and will certainly be predisposed to better attitude and augmented perception from the people.

Desire for free Education

The Akhuwat foundation puts forward in its mission statement,
To alleviate poverty by empowering socially and economically marginalized families

Operating a World class free university is in line with the mission of Akhuwat. For quite a long time Akhuwat has been operating in the microfinance Industry and generating a lot of goodwill. Extending its mission in the form of free education is another strong driving factor.

International visibility

By operating on a world class infrastructure level, there is quite a possibility that Akhuwat foundation as a whole, especially in the microfinance sector will attract international donors, which is very important for the success of Akhuwat in the long run along with its increased distinguishability on world level.

Desire for a world class institution in Lahore

Akhuwat had an intrinsic motivation for operating a free education institution in Lahore. Lahore for quite a long time now has been the educational hub of this nation and most institutions in Lahore, actually none, operates on a free basis. Making a move to do such an act in the city of Lahore will again put Akhuwat in the limelight of the donors, which will lead to easy fund generation.

Providing quality Human Capital to Pakistan

The Akhuwat foundation has put forward in its mission,
Harnessing entrepreneurial potential, capacity building and social guidance

The biggest contributor of entrepreneurial potential, capacity building and social guidance is quality education. By running a free educational institute in Pakistan is again in line with the mission of Akhuwat which in turn is going to drive it to create such a university.

Easy Accessibility to Talent due to the established name of Akhuwat

As the name of Akhuwat is already established in the rural areas and among the poor class of Pakistan, acquisition of talent from these backgrounds will not be a problem for Akhuwat University. This easy access is again one the strong motivator of Akhuwat to carry on its project.

Restraining Forces

Current Available Resources

The biggest restraining factor in the current discussion is the amount of funds available to start with. To go 10 billion PKR in just five years from scratch is very demoralizing and probably the strongest wall to be in between the desired and current state.

Limitation in organization structure of Akhuwat

Akhuwat will be Operating a world class university in just a time span of five years. Looking at the current market worth and organization structure, it would certainly be foolish to go for such an idea as operating such an institution will require adept workforce, skillful in operating large size international level organization.

HEC/other agencies regulations

HEC has a certain criteria for universities to become its certified institution. Also in terms of curriculum HEC has certain restrictions which have to be followed at all costs. Adhering to these regulations will not only prove burdensome but will also increase the costs substantially.

Institutional policies for fund generation

Many international donor agencies are willing to donate in the educational sector of Pakistan just like USAID. The Akhuwat foundation has put stringent criteria for scrutiny of these international donors and hence has rejected all these controversial donors from its lists. This leads to Dilution of donor and hence less donor base all over the world.

High costs

Starting a university from a scratch will lead to immense staring costs, Financial and human both. Bigger chunk of starting financial costs include legal and Consultancy costs. This is one of the biggest Restraining factor.

Well Established Competition

All over Lahore there are some institutions that are world class and entering in to competition with them certainly would not be a walk in the park. It will require both increased human effort and enhanced costs to pose yourself in front of your well established competitors.

Acquisition of expensive Human resource including faculty

Operating a world class institution embraces the idea of inclusion of top class faculty from all over the world. Coupled with the fact the HEC ranking would be very important with respect to faculty, acquiring such assets would eat up biggest chunk rom the donations.

 Contracted Time limit for fund generation

From marketing Perspective, raising 10 Billion PKR in just five years for university that will be a part of the foundation that has current worth less than half of that amount is really very difficult. Marketing for such a motive is really demotivating in itself.

Prioritization of Factors
In the next step of the process, we will assign a score to each of the forces and see whether we should proceed with the project or not.

Score Scale: WEAK 1 2 3 4 Strong 5