Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now?
Infosys' global delivery model was being challenged by the United States backlash against outsourcing. Tax incentives and H1B visas for foreign workers were being reformed to support this policy. The tax incentives being proposed were meant to save American taxpayers $210 billion over ten years by repatriating taxes on foreign profits. Arguments for the H-1B reform advocate ensuring that where there are qualified American workers, those jobs are filled with those individuals before foreign workers. Also, competitors like Wipro and Tata were challenging Infosys' global consulting strategy. How should Infosys react to pressure to hire costly local talent while trying to remain competitive?
Authors :: Marne L. Arthaud-Day, Sukonya Gogoi, Leena Makhija
Swot Analysis of "Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now?" written by Marne L. Arthaud-Day, Sukonya Gogoi, Leena Makhija includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Infosys Workers facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Ethics, IT, Leadership, Supply chain and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Infosys Workers, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Infosys Workers 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 Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Infosys Workers
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Infosys Workers
Strengths Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Infosys Workers in Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Infosys Workers has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Infosys Workers to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Infosys Workers is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Infosys Workers
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Infosys Workers does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Infosys Workers to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Infosys Workers to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Infosys Workers is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Infosys Workers has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? 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.
Analytics focus
– Infosys Workers 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 Marne L. Arthaud-Day, Sukonya Gogoi, Leena Makhija 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Infosys Workers 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 Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Infosys Workers 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 Infosys Workers is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Infosys Workers digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Infosys Workers 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Infosys Workers in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Infosys Workers is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? 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.
Weaknesses Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? 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 Infosys Workers supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Infosys Workers vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? HBR case study mentions - Infosys Workers 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now?, it seems that the employees of Infosys Workers don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Marne L. Arthaud-Day, Sukonya Gogoi, Leena Makhija suggests that, Infosys Workers 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Infosys Workers 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Infosys Workers 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Infosys Workers is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Infosys Workers needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Infosys Workers to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now?, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Infosys Workers 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. Infosys Workers 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now?, in the dynamic environment Infosys Workers has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Infosys Workers has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Infosys Workers 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.
Opportunities Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? | 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 Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Infosys Workers has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Infosys Workers to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? case study. Infosys Workers can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Infosys Workers to increase its market reach. Infosys Workers 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.
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. Infosys Workers 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, Infosys Workers 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, Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Infosys Workers can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Infosys Workers 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Infosys Workers 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. Infosys Workers 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Infosys Workers can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Infosys Workers to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Infosys Workers 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 Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Infosys Workers to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Infosys Workers in the consumer business. Now Infosys Workers can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Infosys Workers in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Infosys Workers 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.
Threats Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Infosys Workers 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 Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now?, Infosys Workers may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Infosys Workers is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Infosys Workers 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. Infosys Workers can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Infosys Workers 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
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. Infosys Workers needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Infosys Workers 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 Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Infosys Workers with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Infosys Workers 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.
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 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Infosys Workers in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Infosys Workers 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? 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 Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? 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 Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? 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 Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? 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 Infosys Consulting in the U.S. (in 2010): What to Do Now? 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 Infosys Workers needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
