PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network
Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand merged in July 1998, creating one of the world's largest full-service professional organizations. This case provides a study of how two major organizations are putting together a global knowledge base that would facilitate communication and coordination within the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) practice. Eventually, this knowledge base would be made available to PwC clients. Discusses the changes, issues, and challenges at PwC in building its Intranet, called KnowledgeCurve, a knowledge management system that incorporates all the assets (knowledge, people, skills) of the company to be utilized by the firm. In order for the organization to be successful, it is crucial for PwC to encourage the users to fully utilize the available resources and to contribute information to the KnowledgeCurve. At the time this case was written, PwC is in its initial stages of setting up its Global Knowledge Curve, which would ultimately serve the entire practice. The limitations in using the Global Knowledge Curve led to the creation of Knowledge Curve at each office level, which incorporates the knowledge base and information important to the local level.
Authors :: Ali F. Farhoomand, Marissa McCauley, Peter Lovelock, Minako Fukagata
Swot Analysis of "PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network" written by Ali F. Farhoomand, Marissa McCauley, Peter Lovelock, Minako Fukagata includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pwc Knowledge facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT, Knowledge management and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pwc Knowledge, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pwc Knowledge 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 PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pwc Knowledge
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 Pwc Knowledge
Strengths PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Pwc Knowledge in PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Pwc Knowledge is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network 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 Pwc Knowledge
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Pwc Knowledge does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Pwc Knowledge is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Pwc Knowledge has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Pwc Knowledge to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Pwc Knowledge 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)
– Pwc Knowledge 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 PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network - 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
– Pwc Knowledge is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network 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 Pwc Knowledge in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Pwc Knowledge 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 Pwc Knowledge in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Pwc Knowledge has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network 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
– Pwc Knowledge 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 Ali F. Farhoomand, Marissa McCauley, Peter Lovelock, Minako Fukagata 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.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Pwc Knowledge digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Pwc Knowledge 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.
Weaknesses PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Pwc Knowledge 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network 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 PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Pwc Knowledge is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network, it seems that the employees of Pwc Knowledge 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Pwc Knowledge 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Pwc Knowledge 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. Pwc Knowledge 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Pwc Knowledge products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Pwc Knowledge needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network, is just above the industry average. Pwc Knowledge 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.
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 Pwc Knowledge supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Pwc Knowledge vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Pwc Knowledge 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network HBR case study mentions - Pwc Knowledge 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network, in the dynamic environment Pwc Knowledge has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Pwc Knowledge has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network | 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 PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network are -
Loyalty marketing
– Pwc Knowledge 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.
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. Pwc Knowledge can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Pwc Knowledge 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Pwc Knowledge 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.
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. Pwc Knowledge can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Pwc Knowledge is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Pwc Knowledge can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Pwc Knowledge 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Pwc Knowledge 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Pwc Knowledge can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Pwc Knowledge operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
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. Pwc Knowledge 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. Pwc Knowledge 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Pwc Knowledge to increase its market reach. Pwc Knowledge 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Pwc Knowledge can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Pwc Knowledge with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Pwc Knowledge is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Pwc Knowledge.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Pwc Knowledge has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Pwc Knowledge 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network, Pwc Knowledge 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 .
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. Pwc Knowledge 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.
Environmental challenges
– Pwc Knowledge 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. Pwc Knowledge can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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 Pwc Knowledge in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Pwc Knowledge needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Pwc Knowledge can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Pwc Knowledge 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Pwc Knowledge 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Pwc Knowledge 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network 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 PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network 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 PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network 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 PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network 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 PricewaterhouseCoopers: Building a Global Network 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 Pwc Knowledge needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.