Running head: BUSINESS CONSULTANT PROJECT 1

Business Consultant Project

Kate Sai Boateng (0031864)

Rahul Poruthoor Ignatious (0063532)

Kiranpreet Kaur (0060160)

Navjot Kaur (0060174)

Anu Joshi (0060190)

MGMT 225

Instructor Amna Khaliq

April 7, 2019

Word Count – 1986

Author Note
This paper was prepared for MGMT 225, taught by Instructor Amna Khaliq
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Grammarly Screenshot

Prezi Link: https://prezi.com/p/bwbfm7mslyda/

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Table of Contents
Executive summary.........................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
History.............................................................................................................................................4
LVCU's Mission and Vision............................................................................................................5
Mission Statement........................................................................................................................5
Vision...........................................................................................................................................5
Major success...................................................................................................................................5
Issues and Problems.........................................................................................................................6
Analysis...........................................................................................................................................6
Financial Analysis........................................................................................................................6
VRIO Framework........................................................................................................................7
Valuable....................................................................................................................................7
Rare..........................................................................................................................................7
Costly to imitate.......................................................................................................................7
Organized to capture value.......................................................................................................7
BCG Matrix..................................................................................................................................7
Star............................................................................................................................................8
Cash cow..................................................................................................................................8
Dog...........................................................................................................................................8
Question Mark..........................................................................................................................8
I-Framework.................................................................................................................................8
Idea...........................................................................................................................................8
Invention...................................................................................................................................8
Innovation.................................................................................................................................8
Imitation...................................................................................................................................8
Major strategic alliances..................................................................................................................9
Credential financial Inc................................................................................................................9
Money machine............................................................................................................................9
Research and development strategies..............................................................................................9
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Primary data analysis...................................................................................................................9

Secondary data analysis...............................................................................................................9
Suggestions and recommendations..................................................................................................9
Strengths and Limitations of the Analysis.....................................................................................10
Strengths.....................................................................................................................................10
Limitations.................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11
Appendices....................................................................................................................................12
Appendix 1: Flow chart..............................................................................................................12
Appendix 2: Financial Analysis.................................................................................................13
Appendix 3: BCG Matrix...........................................................................................................16
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Executive Summary

We as a group consulted Lakeview Credit Union on its strategic functioning and decision

making by applying frameworks VRIO and BCG matrix. We analyzed the products and services

provided by the company. We discussed ways to improve their position among competitors and

on strategies that can help them to achieve their goal of gaining more members from the younger

generation. We also analyzed their financial performance thereby deriving a clear picture of their

financial position. The services and products provided by the organization are designed to cater

to the specific and custom needs of the members. This customer-centered way of business has

helped the organization to build goodwill. Considering the aging demographic, the intervention

of disruptive technology, and economic uncertainty. One of the major goals of the organization is

to increase the membership from a younger demographic. The organization also plans to use

excess capital to develop other streams of revenue.

LVCU gives the best rates in mortgage contracts and provides industry standard rates in

all other services. Moreover, Lakeview has a one on one approach towards each customer when

it comes to services. Considering the current state of the company there is no much scope in

product diversification or market development. Their immediate goal is to attract more young

people by compensating the current transient customer base. People usually prefer national banks

and other highly established organizations through the same services are provided by Lakeview

Credit Union some of which are even cheaper in comparison.

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Introduction

Lake View Credit Union currently serving in three cities, Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, and

Tumbler Ridge (Lake View Credit Union, n.d.). Locals for these areas have been relying on

LVCU for over fifty years for loans and other banking services. LVCU is a co-operative firm

controlled by its members who actively participate in their policy and decision making and the

customers are also the members. Since there is a mutual benefit structure the organization always

concentrate more on providing better services at lower cost. Since the current members are

getting older the organization needs younger members to maintain their business (Earl-personal

communication, March15th,2019). Younger generation customers can also act as a long-term

source of revenue since there is a high chance for them to be there with the company for a longer

period.

History

The information in this paragraph is taken from (Lake View Credit Union, n.d.). LVCU's

history of service began shortly after the great depression. The first branch, Dawson Creek,

opened on August 1943. They accomplished this launch with only 12 members and a total of $6.

By September of the next year, the credit union had 141 members and a share capital of $25,820.

LVCU had the distinction of being one of the fastest growing credit unions in British Columbia,

and today they are proud to announce they serve over 10,000 members with assets over $310

million (Lake View Credit Union, n.d.)

LVCU expanded their services to Chetwynd in 1974, and in 2001, the Tumbler Ridge

branch was opened (Lake View Credit Union, n.d.).

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LVCU's Mission and Vision

Mission Statement: Lake View Credit Union is committed to enriching our members' lives

(Lake View Credit Union, n.d.).

Vision: We are invested in your community, your life, and your dreams (Lake View Credit

Union, n.d.).

Major Success

Lake View Credit Union is a Co-operative. This community-centered character of the

organization has always helped in its consistent growth. They have more market share in most of

the financial services than any other financial institution in the Peace region (Earl-personal

communication, March15th,2019). Since there is an active membership of over 10,000 members,

which forms the lion share of the population (Lake View Credit Union, n.d.). They have

demonstrated their strength in retaining most of their ideal clients as company members. Their

major success is they are meeting most of their basic expectations. Secondly, LVCU is

maintaining its profit growth with consistent performances. In addition, they are also improving

their website adding more options and features for easy accessibility to their customers (Earl-

personal communication, March15th,2019). This will give a new and improved experience to old

customers and helps to attract the younger generation towards the company.

Moreover, the company also focus on its employees. LVCU has a stable cost for

maintaining its human resources with low employee turnover rate and high job satisfaction (Earl-

personal communication, March15th,2019).

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Issues and Problems

The younger generation tends to give preference to more established financial institutions

since there is a high chance for them to move to other parts of Canada where there are no offices

for smaller establishments such a Lake View Credit Union (Earl-personal communication,

March15th,2019). Being not stable in life at a younger age is one of the reasons for them to

choose national banks and other financial institutions over L.V.C.U. Secondly, there are new

initiatives in the market such a Tangerine bank which can provide many services at a cheaper

rate than L.V.C.U. since there are no physical branches that can help them to cut their costs. The

upper hand of nationalized banks when it comes to brand name and higher reliability in their

infrastructure both in physical and virtual has always made L.V.C.U. a second option for many

people (Earl-personal communication, March15th,2019). This creates a cut-throat competition

for surviving. Moreover, there are always chances of economic uncertainty in the business world

so, it is also challenging for the company (Earl-personal communication, March15th,2019).

Analysis

Financial Analysis

The Information in this paragraph is taken from (Lake View Credit Union, 2019). Assets

at the end of the year decreased to 322.8 million CAD. Loan Performances in 2018: the

delinquency ratio of the credit union continues declining at a percent of 1.05%to 1.03%. LVCU

has a capital adequacy ratio of 24.3% which is well above the requirement of 8% (Lake View

Credit Union, 2019).Operating expense operating cost expanded 1.16% from 2017 to end the

year at 7.24 million (Lake View Credit Union, 2019). The largest increase was in the area of

salaries and benefits, as costs rose $121,000, to $3.50 million (2016 - $3.8 million) (Lake View
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Credit Union, 2019). Other expenses decreased marginally over the year (Lake View Credit

Union, 2019).

VRIO Framework

The Information in VRIO Framework is taken from (Earl-personal communication,

March15th,2019) and (Rothaermel, 2016)

Valuable- The most valuable resource for this company is its goodwill. They have a good image

in the community which is the reason for having permanent members.

Rare- The Lake view credit union provides personalized services and cheap mortgage plans as

compared to other banks in the market. These are some of the parts that differentiate Lake View

Credit Union from others.

Costly to imitate- It is hard to imitate this organization because they consider each customer

different according to their specific need. This is more applicable in commercial banking. It is

very hard for the national banks to provide customizable services to customers since they have a

large customer base at different geographic regions. This will be difficult for them to imitate.

Such banks provide standard services to each customer and customers may find these services

not matching to their specific need.

Organized to capture value- They have a well-developed organized structure which consists of a

marketing officer, HR manager, a CEO and a set of a trained officer. They have two additional

branches in Tumbler Ridge and Chetwynd other than Dawson Creek. Moreover, New

implementation of their new websites along with the availability of mobile phone app also helps

the company to be efficient.

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BCG Matrix

The information in BCG Matrix is taken from (Earl-personal communication, March15th,2019)

and (Jurevicius, 2013).

Star: Click switch services, DocuSign service, GIC, RRSP, and the online app and website are

the star product and services of Lake view credit union (Earl-personal communication,

March15th,2019) (Jurevicius, 2013).

Cash cow: Commercial banking and mortgage contracts are the cash cows for the lake view

credit union (Earl-personal communication, March15th,2019) (Jurevicius, 2013).

Dog: Telephone banking service of lake view credit union is the dog product (Earl-personal

communication, March15th,2019) (Jurevicius, 2013).

Question Mark: Index-linked term deposit and tax-free saving accounts come under dog category

for the lake view credit union. (Earl-personal communication, March15th,2019) (Jurevicius,

2013).

I-Framework

The information in I framework is taken from (Rothaermel, 2016)

Idea- The idea behind co-operatives was to contribute to the economic, social, and environmental

well-being of the community in which they reside (Rothaermel, 2016).

Invention- Then came financial co-operative that handle most of the services that are handled by

banks and other similar financial institutions (Rothaermel, 2016).

Innovation- They transformed the idea of serving the community in a business strategy. They

take the initiative to understand what the specific needs of each customer are and design the
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terms and conditions of the services according to the convenience of the customers. This attracts

more customers to their firm (Rothaermel, 2016).

Imitation- They added innovative features to the services like Click switch services, DocuSign

service by which people can avoid coming directly to the office for authorizing their agreements

regarding the products and services.

Major Strategic Alliances

Credential financial Inc.: LVCU partners with the credential in the area of wealth management,

investment, and insurance services (Earl-personal communication, March15th,2019). These

services are available in all their branches.

Money machine: There is an agreement between credit unions that allows the members of any

credit union to use the money machines of another credit union without charge (Earl-personal

communication, March15th,2019).

LVCU accounts come with interac, credit/debit card services through agreements with interac,

VISA, Mastercard, etc. (Earl-personal communication, March15th,2019).

Research and Development Strategies

Primary data analysis: The company uses historical performance data readily available to

understand where it stands in the market and its financial position. By gaining these incites, they

can achieve clarity on where they must make improvements, thereby implementing the right

strategies and decisions to derive desirable results (Earl-personal communication,

March15th,2019).
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Secondary data analysis: The company uses secondary data regarding economic and

demographic developments in the region. This information complements the information they

derived from the primary data in decision making (Earl-personal communication,

March15th,2019).

Suggestions and Recommendations

Lake View Credit Union should focus on the younger generation by providing more

customizable financial services and products. They are the one who is in the starting stage of

their career and need to plan their financial future. They can be the ideal members of the

company. Making the young generation more financially literate is also an important task since

then only they will think about the importance of planning their finances. L.V.C.U. can conduct

financial literacy classes in schools and other establishments where there is a high concentration

of young people. This can give them the added advantage of building their brand image in the

business along with passive marketing (Since active marketing is not possible in most of the

schools) They can work on more strategic alliance that will help them to increase their

accessibility in other parts of Canada thereby making themselves more attractive to the young

generation. They can also imitate other credit unions that when went provincial and national

thereby gaining accessibility to a wider area of business and a lot more memberships.

Strengths and Limitations of the Analysis

Strengths:

1.All the group members were very supportive to each other.

2.Got multiple opportunities to talk with the manager.

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3.Did discussions with the marketing manager before and after analysis.

4.Moreover the information was also discussed with the H.R. Manager and CEO.

5.Co-operation from the part of Management was great especially that of the marketing manager.

Limitations:

1.Finding mutually acceptable timing for meeting, discussions and interviews were difficult.

2.Since it was the end of the financial year the firm was busy along with the staff and

management.

Conclusion

Suggestions and recommendations are provided on gaining more youth membership there by retaining the

stream of revenue by doing a thorough analysis of the details derived from primary and secondary data

sources and using appropriate strategic frameworks and models.

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References

Earl, J. (2019, 03 15). Strategic Discussion. (Rahul, Interviewer)

Jurevicius, O. (2013, May 1). How to focus on the stars with a clever BCG matrix. Retrieved 03
31, 2019, from Strategic Management Insight:
https://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/bcg-matrix-growth-share.html

Lake View Credit Union. (n.d.). About LVCU. Retrieved 03 30, 2019, from Lake View Credit
Union: https://lakeviewcreditunion.com/your-credit-union-2/

Lake View Credit Union. (n.d.). Governance. Retrieved 03 30, 2019, from Lake View Credit
Union: https://lakeviewcreditunion.com/your-credit-union-2/governance/

Lake View Credit Union. (n.d.). Our History. Retrieved 03 30, 2019, from Lake View Credit
Union: https://lakeviewcreditunion.com/your-credit-union-2/our-history/
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Appendices

Appendix 1: Flow chart

Making the report

Select the firm Inferences
and prezi

Discussions with Giving

Collection of data group members suggestions to the
and the firm. organization

Organizing the
Analysing the information to fit
information into the framework
and models

Selecting the
Pinpointing the compatible
issues framework and
models
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Appendix 2: Financial Analysis

(Lake View Credit Union, 2019)

Lake View Credit Union. (n.d.). Governance. Retrieved 03 30, 2019, from Lake View Credit
Union: https://lakeviewcreditunion.com/your-credit-union-2/governance/

(Lake View Credit Union, 2019)

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Lake View Credit Union. (n.d.). Governance. Retrieved 03 30, 2019, from Lake View Credit
Union: https://lakeviewcreditunion.com/your-credit-union-2/governance/

(Lake View Credit Union, 2019)

Lake View Credit Union. (n.d.). Governance. Retrieved 03 30, 2019, from Lake View Credit
Union: https://lakeviewcreditunion.com/your-credit-union-2/governance/

(Lake View Credit Union, 2019)

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Lake View Credit Union. (n.d.). Governance. Retrieved 03 30, 2019, from Lake View Credit
Union: https://lakeviewcreditunion.com/your-credit-union-2/governance/

(Lake View Credit Union, n.d.)

Lake View Credit Union. (n.d.). Governance. Retrieved 03 30, 2019, from Lake View Credit
Union: https://lakeviewcreditunion.com/your-credit-union-2/governance/
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Appendix 3: BCG Matrix

(Jurevicius, 2013) (Earl-personal communication, March15th,2019)

Jurevicius, O. (2013, May 1). How to focus on the stars with a clever BCG matrix. Retrieved 03
31, 2019, from Strategic Management Insight:
https://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/bcg-matrix-growth-share.html