Case Study Description of Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows
Knowledge is being discussed as one of the most important organizational resources. But these resources exist in specialized pockets dispersed across the organization, and dedicated knowledge management (KM) programs are required to improve their flow. However, high failure rates of such programs raise serious doubts about their ability to improve knowledge flows. This case traces the KM program of Infosys Technologies, Ltd - a Global Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise. The case describes how, in 1999, Infosys' top management detected a severe lack of organizational knowledge flows while implementing a program aimed at continuously improving their core business processes. A more detailed examination exposed that the lack of knowledge flows stifled the effectiveness of their organizational structure and their business model. Alarmed by these critical findings, Infosys initiated their KM program. A five-stage knowledge maturity model (KMM) was conceptualized to aid KM implementation. With people, processes, and technology as the three pillars of Infosys' KM program, KMM identified specific capabilities Infosys needed to develop in each of the five levels. Things worked fine till 2004 when Infosys began moving towards KMM Level 4, which required developing clear metrics to measure KM effectiveness, that is, improvements in knowledge flow. In the absence of such metrics, Infosys' Board of Directors started questioning company's financial investment in the KM program. The CEO, who championed the KM program, knew that he faced two key challenges - to convince the Board of future revenue prospects of the KM program, and to identify metrics for assessing improvements in organizational knowledge flows.
Swot Analysis of "Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows" written by Nikhil Mehta, Sharon Oswald, Anju Mehta includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Km Infosys facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows casestudy better are - – technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Km Infosys, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Km Infosys 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 Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Km Infosys
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 Km Infosys
Strengths Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Km Infosys in Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Km Infosys 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 Km Infosys in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Km Infosys 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 Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Km Infosys 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 Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Km Infosys is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Km Infosys 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 Technology & Operations industry
– Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Km Infosys to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Km Infosys to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Km Infosys has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Km Infosys to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Km Infosys 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 Nikhil Mehta, Sharon Oswald, Anju Mehta 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Km Infosys in the sector have low bargaining power. Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Km Infosys to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Km Infosys 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 Km Infosys is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Km Infosys 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows 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.
Weaknesses Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Km Infosys is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows, 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows, is just above the industry average. Km Infosys needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Km Infosys 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 - Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows 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 Km Infosys 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Km Infosys is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Km Infosys needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Km Infosys to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Km Infosys 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows 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 Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Km Infosys is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Km Infosys supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Km Infosys vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows HBR case study mentions - Km Infosys 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Nikhil Mehta, Sharon Oswald, Anju Mehta suggests that, Km Infosys 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 Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows | 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 Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Km Infosys has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Km Infosys to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows case study. Km Infosys can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Km Infosys 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 Km Infosys to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Km Infosys 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.
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 Km Infosys 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Km Infosys can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Km Infosys 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 Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Km Infosys 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 Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Km Infosys to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Km Infosys can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Km Infosys is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows 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.
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 Km Infosys in the consumer business. Now Km Infosys can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Km Infosys can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Km Infosys 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. Km Infosys 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Km Infosys 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.
Threats Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Km Infosys is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows, Km Infosys 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 .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Km Infosys 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.
Increasing wage structure of Km Infosys
– 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 Km Infosys.
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. Km Infosys needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Km Infosys 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 Km Infosys in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Km Infosys 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.
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 Km Infosys.
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 Km Infosys in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Km Infosys has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Km Infosys 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Km Infosys 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 Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Infosys Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows 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 Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows 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 Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows 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 Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows 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 Technologies: Improving Organizational Knowledge Flows 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 Km Infosys needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.