Case Study Description of iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience
In May 2013, iGATE Corporation suffered a major blow after terminating its president and chief executive officer, Phaneesh Murthy, as a result of allegations of sexual harassment. Murthy had previously been forced to step down from Infosys Limited for similar reasons. After Murthy's unceremonious exit, iGATE struggled to fill its top leadership position. Finally, in September 2013, a new chief executive took over and outlined a plan of action that differed completely from his predecessor's strategy. However, the company, which had been poised to achieve big ambitions, had lost momentum and appeared directionless. Had iGATE made a mistake by hiring Murthy as its top executive just 18 months after he had been fired from Infosys? Why did iGATE not conduct due diligence on its talent acquisition and management, especially for the critical position of chief executive officer? How could other organizations turn around a position of vulnerability to become resilient? Nidhi S. Bisht is affiliated with Management Development Institute. Jyotsna Bhatnagar is affiliated with Management Development Institute.
Swot Analysis of "iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience" written by Nidhi S. Bisht, Jyotsna Bhatnagar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Igate Murthy facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Talent management and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Igate Murthy, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Igate Murthy 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 iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Igate Murthy
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 Igate Murthy
Strengths iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Igate Murthy in iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Igate Murthy has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Igate Murthy has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Learning organization
- Igate Murthy is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Igate Murthy is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Igate Murthy 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.
High brand equity
– Igate Murthy has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Igate Murthy to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Igate Murthy in the sector have low bargaining power. iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Igate Murthy to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Igate Murthy
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Igate Murthy does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Igate Murthy 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 iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Igate Murthy has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Igate Murthy has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Training and development
– Igate Murthy has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Igate Murthy is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Igate Murthy 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 Igate Murthy in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Igate Murthy has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Igate Murthy 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Igate Murthy, firm in the HBR case study iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience 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 iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience, is just above the industry average. Igate Murthy 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 dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Igate Murthy supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Igate Murthy vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Igate Murthy is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Igate Murthy needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Igate Murthy to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Igate Murthy 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Igate Murthy is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Igate Murthy 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 to strategic competitive environment developments
– As iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience HBR case study mentions - Igate Murthy takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Igate Murthy has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience | 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 iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience are -
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 Igate Murthy in the consumer business. Now Igate Murthy can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Igate Murthy 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Igate Murthy in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Igate Murthy has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Igate Murthy to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience case study. Igate Murthy can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Igate Murthy can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Igate Murthy can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Igate Murthy 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, iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Igate Murthy 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 Igate Murthy to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Igate Murthy can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Igate Murthy can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
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. Igate Murthy 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. Igate Murthy 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.
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 Igate Murthy 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Igate Murthy is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Threats iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience are -
Environmental challenges
– Igate Murthy 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. Igate Murthy can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Igate Murthy has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Igate Murthy needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
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.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Igate Murthy with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Igate Murthy needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Igate Murthy 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
– Igate Murthy 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Igate Murthy 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience, Igate Murthy 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Igate Murthy needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Organizational Development industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Igate Murthy is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Igate Murthy will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience 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 iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience 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 iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience 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 iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience 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 iGATE Corporation: Toxic Talent and Organizational Resilience 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 Igate Murthy needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
