George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A)
George Martin, managing partner at The Boston Consulting Group, is worried as some of his best performers have recently pulled him aside to discuss the challenges they face managing the demands of their work lives with their desire for more predictable time with their families. BCG had instituted multiple initiatives to help its consulting staff better achieve work-life balance, yet some of Martin's top consultants still struggled. The case considers the challenges professional service firm employees face in terms of work-life issues.
Swot Analysis of "George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A)" written by Leslie A. Perlow, Kerry Herman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Consulting Martin facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Communication, Human resource management, Labor, Organizational structure and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Consulting Martin, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Consulting Martin 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 George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Consulting Martin
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 Consulting Martin
Strengths George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Consulting Martin in George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Consulting Martin has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Consulting Martin to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Consulting Martin in the sector have low bargaining power. George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Consulting Martin to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Consulting Martin is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Consulting Martin 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 George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Consulting Martin is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Consulting Martin has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Consulting Martin to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Consulting Martin to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Consulting Martin 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.
Organizational Resilience of Consulting Martin
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Consulting Martin does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Consulting Martin has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Consulting Martin 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Consulting Martin 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.
Learning organization
- Consulting Martin 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 Consulting Martin is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) are -
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 Consulting Martin supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Consulting Martin vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) HBR case study mentions - Consulting Martin 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Consulting Martin needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Consulting Martin is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Consulting Martin needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Consulting Martin to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Consulting Martin 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 - George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Consulting Martin is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Consulting Martin 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) 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 George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Consulting Martin is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A), 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Consulting Martin 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Leslie A. Perlow, Kerry Herman suggests that, Consulting Martin is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Opportunities George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) | 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 George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) are -
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 Consulting Martin 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Consulting Martin to increase its market reach. Consulting Martin 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Consulting Martin 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Consulting Martin can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Consulting Martin 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Consulting Martin can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Consulting Martin can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Consulting Martin 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Consulting Martin has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Consulting Martin to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) case study. Consulting Martin can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 Consulting Martin in the consumer business. Now Consulting Martin can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Consulting Martin 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 Consulting Martin to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Consulting Martin can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Consulting Martin 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.
Threats George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) are -
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 Consulting Martin business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Consulting Martin 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. Consulting Martin can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Consulting Martin 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 wage structure of Consulting Martin
– 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 Consulting Martin.
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 Consulting Martin.
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 Consulting Martin in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A), Consulting Martin 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Consulting Martin with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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
– Consulting Martin has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Consulting Martin 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Consulting Martin 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.
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. Consulting Martin can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Consulting Martin needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) 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 George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) 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 George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) 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 George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) 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 George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A) 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 Consulting Martin needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
