Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged)
Sanford C. Bernstein, a premier sell-side research firm, is expanding globally, and has recently opened an office in Hong Kong. Global Director of Research Robert van Brugge must consider how best to organize the firm's research department to enhance cross-sector and cross-geography collaboration among the senior research analysts in order to adapt to the challenging realities of global expansion in the financial services industry.
Swot Analysis of "Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged)" written by Linda A. Hill, Dana M. Teppert includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bernstein Sanford facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Conflict, International business and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bernstein Sanford, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bernstein Sanford operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bernstein Sanford
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Bernstein Sanford
Strengths Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bernstein Sanford in Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Bernstein Sanford has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Analytics focus
– Bernstein Sanford is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Linda A. Hill, Dana M. Teppert can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Bernstein Sanford is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Bernstein Sanford in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Bernstein Sanford is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bernstein Sanford has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Bernstein Sanford has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bernstein Sanford to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Bernstein Sanford is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bernstein Sanford in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bernstein Sanford in the sector have low bargaining power. Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bernstein Sanford to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bernstein Sanford to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bernstein Sanford to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Bernstein Sanford are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Weaknesses Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) are -
Need for greater diversity
– Bernstein Sanford has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bernstein Sanford, firm in the HBR case study Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged), is just above the industry average. Bernstein Sanford needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bernstein Sanford has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Bernstein Sanford has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bernstein Sanford has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Bernstein Sanford even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Organizational Development strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bernstein Sanford has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged), in the dynamic environment Bernstein Sanford has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bernstein Sanford has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged), it seems that the employees of Bernstein Sanford don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bernstein Sanford is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) are -
Manufacturing automation
– Bernstein Sanford can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bernstein Sanford to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bernstein Sanford has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bernstein Sanford to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Bernstein Sanford to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Bernstein Sanford to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bernstein Sanford can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bernstein Sanford can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bernstein Sanford can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Organizational Development segment.
Buying journey improvements
– Bernstein Sanford can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Bernstein Sanford to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Bernstein Sanford can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Bernstein Sanford can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Bernstein Sanford in the consumer business. Now Bernstein Sanford can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Bernstein Sanford has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bernstein Sanford can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Threats Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Bernstein Sanford can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bernstein Sanford high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bernstein Sanford is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bernstein Sanford demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Bernstein Sanford needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bernstein Sanford can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bernstein Sanford can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged), Bernstein Sanford may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Bernstein Sanford.
Increasing wage structure of Bernstein Sanford
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Bernstein Sanford.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Bernstein Sanford needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Bernstein Sanford can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bernstein Sanford in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (B) (Abridged) is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Bernstein Sanford needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.