Swot Analysis of "A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms" written by Robert G. Eccles, Ana Kreacic, Penelope Rossano includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Casename Fernfortuniversity.com facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Casename Fernfortuniversity.com, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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 A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Casename Fernfortuniversity.com
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 Casename Fernfortuniversity.com
Strengths A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Casename Fernfortuniversity.com in A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Casename Fernfortuniversity.com is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Casename Fernfortuniversity.com in the sector have low bargaining power. A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Casename Fernfortuniversity.com to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Casename Fernfortuniversity.com in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Casename Fernfortuniversity.com is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Casename Fernfortuniversity.com is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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.
Analytics focus
– Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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 Robert G. Eccles, Ana Kreacic, Penelope Rossano 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.
Learning organization
- Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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 Casename Fernfortuniversity.com is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Casename Fernfortuniversity.com has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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)
– Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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 A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Casename Fernfortuniversity.com digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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 A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms 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 A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Casename Fernfortuniversity.com is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms, in the dynamic environment Casename Fernfortuniversity.com has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Casename Fernfortuniversity.com has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Casename Fernfortuniversity.com is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Casename Fernfortuniversity.com needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Casename Fernfortuniversity.com to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Casename Fernfortuniversity.com supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Casename Fernfortuniversity.com vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Casename Fernfortuniversity.com products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Casename Fernfortuniversity.com needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms 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 Casename Fernfortuniversity.com has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Casename Fernfortuniversity.com has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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.
Opportunities A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms | 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 A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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. Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Casename Fernfortuniversity.com can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms 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.
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. Casename Fernfortuniversity.com can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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
– Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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.
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. Casename Fernfortuniversity.com can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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.
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 Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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.
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 Casename Fernfortuniversity.com in the consumer business. Now Casename Fernfortuniversity.com can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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, A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Casename Fernfortuniversity.com can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Casename Fernfortuniversity.com can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Casename Fernfortuniversity.com operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Threats A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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 A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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 Casename Fernfortuniversity.com is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms, Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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 wage structure of Casename Fernfortuniversity.com
– 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 Casename Fernfortuniversity.com.
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 Casename Fernfortuniversity.com business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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 Casename Fernfortuniversity.com in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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.
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 Casename Fernfortuniversity.com.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Casename Fernfortuniversity.com 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms 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 A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms 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 A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms 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 A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms 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 A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms 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 Casename Fernfortuniversity.com needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.