Swot Analysis of "Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework" written by Dorothy Leonard, Carin-Isabel Knoop includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mercer Consulting's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture, Product development and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mercer Consulting's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mercer Consulting's 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 Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mercer Consulting's
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Mercer Consulting's
Strengths Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mercer Consulting's in Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mercer Consulting's 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mercer Consulting's has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mercer Consulting's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mercer Consulting's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mercer Consulting's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Mercer Consulting's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mercer Consulting's 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 Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Mercer Consulting's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mercer Consulting's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Mercer Consulting's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Mercer Consulting's 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 Dorothy Leonard, Carin-Isabel Knoop 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Mercer Consulting's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Mercer Consulting's 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 Mercer Consulting's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mercer Consulting's 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.
Weaknesses Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mercer Consulting's 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 - Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mercer Consulting's 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. Mercer Consulting's 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mercer Consulting's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Mercer Consulting's 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework, in the dynamic environment Mercer Consulting's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mercer Consulting's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Mercer Consulting's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mercer Consulting's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Mercer Consulting's 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework, it seems that the employees of Mercer Consulting's 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Mercer Consulting's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mercer Consulting's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Mercer Consulting's 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.
Opportunities Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework | 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 Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework are -
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. Mercer Consulting's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Mercer Consulting's has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mercer Consulting's 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 Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mercer Consulting's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Mercer Consulting's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Mercer Consulting's 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mercer Consulting's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mercer Consulting's 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 Mercer Consulting's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mercer Consulting's 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, Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework, 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
– Mercer Consulting's can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mercer Consulting's 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Mercer Consulting's 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mercer Consulting's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mercer Consulting's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework case study. Mercer Consulting's 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 Mercer Consulting's in the consumer business. Now Mercer Consulting's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mercer Consulting's 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 Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework .
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 Mercer Consulting's.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Mercer Consulting's 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mercer Consulting's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mercer Consulting's needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mercer Consulting's 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mercer Consulting's 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mercer Consulting's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Mercer Consulting's 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. Mercer Consulting's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework, Mercer Consulting's may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
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 Mercer Consulting's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Mercer Consulting's 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.
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 Mercer Consulting's in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework 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 Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework 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 Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework 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 Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework 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 Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (D): The Knowledge Management Framework 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 Mercer Consulting's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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