Case Study Description of Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged)
In late spring 2009, Stroz Friedberg co-presidents Edward Stroz and Eric Friedberg had to set growth targets for 2010. The leading global consulting firm they had built specialized in managing digital risk and uncovering digital evidence and had grown very rapidly. With the firm's CFO, they believed that the firm could grow from $58 million to $72 million, a growth rate of 27% over the preceding year. However, the firm's 11 offices had submitted first draft FY 2010 plans that together added up to firm-wide revenues of only $53 million, a growth rate of negative 10.2%. The preceding years of rapid growth had been successful but challenging, and a thorough review of the firm's culture, systems, structure, and processes in late 2008 had resulted in a significant set of changes to which the organization was still adjusting. Stroz and Friedberg wondered whether to push for continued, aggressive growth.
Swot Analysis of "Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged)" written by David A. Garvin, Michael Norris includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Friedberg Stroz facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurial management, Growth strategy, Organizational culture, Organizational structure and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, 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,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Friedberg Stroz, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Friedberg Stroz 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 Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Friedberg Stroz
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 Friedberg Stroz
Strengths Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Friedberg Stroz in Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Friedberg Stroz
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Friedberg Stroz does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Friedberg Stroz 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 Friedberg Stroz in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Friedberg Stroz in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Friedberg Stroz digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Friedberg Stroz 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Friedberg Stroz to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Friedberg Stroz to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Friedberg Stroz 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 Friedberg Stroz is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Friedberg Stroz is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Friedberg Stroz has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) 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 Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) 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.
High brand equity
– Friedberg Stroz has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Friedberg Stroz to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Friedberg Stroz has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Friedberg Stroz 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Friedberg Stroz 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.
Weaknesses Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Friedberg Stroz, firm in the HBR case study Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Friedberg Stroz 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. Friedberg Stroz 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Friedberg Stroz 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 - Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) 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 Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) 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 Friedberg Stroz 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Friedberg Stroz 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Friedberg Stroz 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, Friedberg Stroz is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 Friedberg Stroz supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Friedberg Stroz vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) 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 Friedberg Stroz has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Friedberg Stroz products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Friedberg Stroz needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) 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 Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Friedberg Stroz is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) | 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 Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) are -
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. Friedberg Stroz can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Friedberg Stroz can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Friedberg Stroz operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Friedberg Stroz 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Friedberg Stroz 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Friedberg Stroz 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 Friedberg Stroz to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Friedberg Stroz 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Friedberg Stroz to increase its market reach. Friedberg Stroz 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Friedberg Stroz 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. Friedberg Stroz can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Friedberg Stroz can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Friedberg Stroz 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 Friedberg Stroz 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Friedberg Stroz is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) 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.
Threats Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Friedberg Stroz has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Friedberg Stroz 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged), Friedberg Stroz 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 .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Friedberg Stroz 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Friedberg Stroz 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Friedberg Stroz 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 Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) .
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. Friedberg Stroz 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Friedberg Stroz 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.
Increasing wage structure of Friedberg Stroz
– 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 Friedberg Stroz.
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 Friedberg Stroz in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Friedberg Stroz 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.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Friedberg Stroz can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Friedberg Stroz business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) 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 Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) 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 Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) 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 Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) 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 Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg (Abridged) 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 Friedberg Stroz needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.