Case Study Description of Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up
Jim Sims tries to close the deal to create Cambridge Technology Partners (CTP) in a spin-out from a troubled technology consulting firm. The deal looks tenuous.
Swot Analysis of "Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up" written by Paul A. Gompers, Catherine Conneely includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cambridge Ctp facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT, Negotiations, Venture capital and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is backlash against globalization,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cambridge Ctp, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cambridge Ctp 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 Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cambridge Ctp
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Cambridge Ctp
Strengths Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cambridge Ctp in Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Cambridge Ctp is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up 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
– Cambridge Ctp 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 Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Cambridge Ctp has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Cambridge Ctp is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cambridge Ctp 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cambridge Ctp to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cambridge Ctp to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Cambridge Ctp 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 Paul A. Gompers, Catherine Conneely 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.
High brand equity
– Cambridge Ctp has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cambridge Ctp to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cambridge Ctp is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up 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.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Cambridge Ctp 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 Cambridge Ctp in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cambridge Ctp is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up HBR case study mentions - Cambridge Ctp 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Cambridge Ctp 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cambridge Ctp products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cambridge Ctp needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Cambridge Ctp 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up 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 Cambridge Ctp has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cambridge Ctp 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.
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 Cambridge Ctp supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cambridge Ctp vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cambridge Ctp 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cambridge Ctp is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up 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 Cambridge Ctp 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 - Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Cambridge Ctp 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.
Opportunities Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up | 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 Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Cambridge Ctp 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. Cambridge Ctp 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cambridge Ctp can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cambridge Ctp operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
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 Cambridge Ctp 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cambridge Ctp 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 Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cambridge Ctp to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Cambridge Ctp can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cambridge Ctp 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 Cambridge Ctp to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cambridge Ctp to increase its market reach. Cambridge Ctp 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Cambridge Ctp 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cambridge Ctp 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cambridge Ctp 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cambridge Ctp 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.
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. Cambridge Ctp can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cambridge Ctp is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up 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 Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Cambridge Ctp can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Cambridge Ctp
– 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 Cambridge Ctp.
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.
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 Cambridge Ctp.
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. Cambridge Ctp 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 Cambridge Ctp in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cambridge Ctp 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 Cambridge Ctp is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cambridge Ctp has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cambridge Ctp needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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 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. Cambridge Ctp needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Cambridge Ctp in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Cambridge Ctp 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
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 Cambridge Ctp business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up 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 Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up 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 Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up 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 Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up 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 Cambridge Technology Partners: 1991 Start Up 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 Cambridge Ctp needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
