Case Study Description of Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level
Having positioned itself from the beginning as a global enterprise in information technology, Infosys benchmarked its governance practices with the best in the world right from the start, focusing on the importance of performance appraisal at all levels, including that of the board. Indeed, Infosys broke fresh ground when it introduced a model of Peer Review at the board level wherein each board member would annually review the performance of every other individual member of the board. Launched as the personal initiative of the chairman of the board and chief mentor - who also designed its process framework - the Peer Review was meant to raise the stature of corporate governance at Infosys. More than seven years later, Infosys launched Board Review, a more common form of performance appraisal wherein each individual member of the board would annually review the performance of the board as a whole during the previous year. As he re-examined Peer Review in light of this new model of appraisal, the chairman of the board had to decide if Peer Review was serving its purpose, if it was damaging to boardroom collegiality, and how to institutionalize performance appraisal processes before he retired.
Swot Analysis of "Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level" written by Yaqi Shi, Chandra Sekhar Ramasastry includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Infosys Board facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Infosys Board, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Infosys Board 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: Peer Review at Board Level can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Infosys Board
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Infosys Board
Strengths Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Infosys Board in Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Infosys Board has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Infosys Board to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Infosys Board is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level 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 Infosys Board in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Infosys Board 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level 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 Leadership & Managing People industry
– Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Infosys Board to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Infosys Board to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Infosys Board 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: Peer Review at Board Level HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Infosys Board is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level 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
– Infosys Board has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Infosys Board 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.
Analytics focus
– Infosys Board 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 Yaqi Shi, Chandra Sekhar Ramasastry 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Infosys Board 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: Peer Review at Board Level - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Infosys Board
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Infosys Board does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level HBR case study mentions - Infosys Board 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Infosys Board 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: Peer Review at Board Level should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level 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 Infosys Board has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level, it seems that the employees of Infosys Board don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Yaqi Shi, Chandra Sekhar Ramasastry suggests that, Infosys Board 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Infosys Board has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Infosys Board 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.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Infosys Board supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Infosys Board vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Infosys Board is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Infosys Board needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Infosys Board to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Infosys Board 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level, is just above the industry average. Infosys Board 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level 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: Peer Review at Board Level can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Infosys Board is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level | 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: Peer Review at Board Level are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Infosys Board 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: Peer Review at Board Level - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Infosys Board to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Infosys Board can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Infosys Board in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Infosys Board 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: Peer Review at Board Level, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Infosys Board to increase its market reach. Infosys Board 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Infosys Board can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Infosys Board 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 Infosys Board to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Infosys Board can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Infosys Board 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 Infosys Board can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Infosys Board can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Infosys Board operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Infosys Board 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Infosys Board can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Threats Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level are -
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: Peer Review at Board Level, Infosys Board may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Infosys Board 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: Peer Review at Board Level .
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.
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 Infosys Board business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Infosys Board in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Infosys Board needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Infosys Board 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.
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.
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 Infosys Board.
Environmental challenges
– Infosys Board needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Infosys Board can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Infosys Board has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Infosys Board needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Infosys Board 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Infosys Board with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Infosys: Peer Review at Board Level 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: Peer Review at Board Level 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: Peer Review at Board Level 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: Peer Review at Board Level 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: Peer Review at Board Level is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Infosys Board needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.