Case Study Description of Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively
It is imperative for the internal systems and processes to be connected to the external processes of client management, competitive adaptation, and service delivery.
Authors :: Thomas J. DeLong, Ashish Nanda, Scot Landry
Swot Analysis of "Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively" written by Thomas J. DeLong, Ashish Nanda, Scot Landry includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Processes Adaptation facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Supply chain and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Processes Adaptation, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Processes Adaptation 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 Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Processes Adaptation
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 Processes Adaptation
Strengths Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Processes Adaptation in Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Processes Adaptation 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.
High brand equity
– Processes Adaptation has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Processes Adaptation to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Processes Adaptation has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Processes Adaptation to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Processes Adaptation to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Processes Adaptation 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Processes Adaptation is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Processes Adaptation in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Processes Adaptation 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 Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Processes Adaptation is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Processes Adaptation has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Processes Adaptation has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Learning organization
- Processes Adaptation 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 Processes Adaptation is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively, 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively 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 Processes Adaptation has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively, it seems that the employees of Processes Adaptation 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Processes Adaptation 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Processes Adaptation is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Processes Adaptation 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Processes Adaptation products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Processes Adaptation needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Processes Adaptation 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Processes Adaptation, firm in the HBR case study Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Processes Adaptation supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Processes Adaptation vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Processes Adaptation 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 Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively | 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 Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Processes Adaptation in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Processes Adaptation 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Processes Adaptation to increase its market reach. Processes Adaptation 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Processes Adaptation 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 Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Processes Adaptation to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Processes Adaptation 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Processes Adaptation can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Processes Adaptation can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively 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.
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 Processes Adaptation in the consumer business. Now Processes Adaptation can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Processes Adaptation can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Processes Adaptation 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.
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. Processes Adaptation can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Processes Adaptation 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Processes Adaptation 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 Technology & Operations segment.
Threats Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Processes Adaptation can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Processes Adaptation.
Regulatory challenges
– Processes Adaptation 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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively, Processes Adaptation 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Processes Adaptation is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Processes Adaptation in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Processes Adaptation 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Processes Adaptation 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.
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. Processes Adaptation needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Processes Adaptation 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.
Environmental challenges
– Processes Adaptation 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. Processes Adaptation can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively 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 Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively 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 Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively 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 Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively 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 Professional Services, Module Five: Serving Clients Effectively 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 Processes Adaptation needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.