Case Study Description of Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co.
Examines the recruiting process of Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. (BHC), an investment banking firm known for its work with middle market companies. Specifically, presents a profile of the firm and its recruiting process and then examines that process through the firm's recruiting efforts at Harvard Business School (HBS). Includes the resumes of 17 second-year HBS students who sought interviews for an associate position with BHC and raises the issue of how interview selections were made from those resumes.
Authors :: John J. Gabarro, Andrew Burtis, Herminia Ibarra, John P. Kotter
Swot Analysis of "Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co." written by John J. Gabarro, Andrew Burtis, Herminia Ibarra, John P. Kotter includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Recruiting Bhc facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Talent management and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Recruiting Bhc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Recruiting Bhc 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 Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Recruiting Bhc
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 Recruiting Bhc
Strengths Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Recruiting Bhc in Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Recruiting Bhc 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
– Recruiting Bhc has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Recruiting Bhc to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Recruiting Bhc 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 Recruiting Bhc in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Recruiting Bhc in the sector have low bargaining power. Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Recruiting Bhc to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Recruiting Bhc has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Recruiting Bhc 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Recruiting Bhc is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Recruiting Bhc in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Recruiting Bhc
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Recruiting Bhc does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Recruiting Bhc 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 John J. Gabarro, Andrew Burtis, Herminia Ibarra, John P. Kotter 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.
Training and development
– Recruiting Bhc has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Recruiting Bhc 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 Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Recruiting Bhc digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Recruiting Bhc has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Weaknesses Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. 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 Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Recruiting Bhc is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Recruiting Bhc has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Recruiting Bhc is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Recruiting Bhc 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 - Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co., is just above the industry average. Recruiting Bhc 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Recruiting Bhc 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Recruiting Bhc 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Recruiting Bhc is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Recruiting Bhc needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Recruiting Bhc to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Recruiting Bhc supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co., it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Recruiting Bhc vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Recruiting Bhc 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. Recruiting Bhc 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. HBR case study mentions - Recruiting Bhc 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.
Opportunities Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. | 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 Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Recruiting Bhc 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Recruiting Bhc 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Recruiting Bhc 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 Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Recruiting Bhc to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Recruiting Bhc can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Recruiting Bhc 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.
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 Recruiting Bhc in the consumer business. Now Recruiting Bhc can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Recruiting Bhc is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Recruiting Bhc to increase its market reach. Recruiting Bhc will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Recruiting Bhc 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, Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co., to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Recruiting Bhc can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Recruiting Bhc can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Recruiting Bhc operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Recruiting Bhc 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 Recruiting Bhc to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Recruiting Bhc can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. are -
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Recruiting Bhc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Recruiting Bhc 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Recruiting Bhc 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.
Environmental challenges
– Recruiting Bhc 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. Recruiting Bhc can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
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 Recruiting Bhc.
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. Recruiting Bhc 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Recruiting Bhc 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.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Recruiting Bhc in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Recruiting Bhc business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Recruiting Bhc 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co., Recruiting Bhc 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Recruiting Bhc 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 Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Recruiting Bhc with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. 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 Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. 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 Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. 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 Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. 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 Recruiting at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. 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 Recruiting Bhc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.