Case Study Description of Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B)
Supplements the (A) case.Cathy Benko pulls together a group of Deloitte and Touche's top partners for a weekend discussion of the Initiative for the Retention and Advancement of Women (WIN). Benko, stimulated by the strong reaction by the attending partners, agrees to take on the leadership role. But only after negotiating the details of the role with CEO Quigley.
Authors :: Deborah M. Kolb, Cailin B. Hammer, Kathleen L. McGinn
Swot Analysis of "Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B)" written by Deborah M. Kolb, Cailin B. Hammer, Kathleen L. McGinn includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Benko Deloitte facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Employee retention, Gender, Human resource management, Joint ventures, Leadership, Negotiations, Risk management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, 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, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Benko Deloitte, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Benko Deloitte 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 Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Benko Deloitte
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 Benko Deloitte
Strengths Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Benko Deloitte in Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Benko Deloitte digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Benko Deloitte 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Benko Deloitte 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Benko Deloitte is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Benko Deloitte 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 Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) - 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 Benko Deloitte
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Benko Deloitte does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Benko Deloitte 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 Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Benko Deloitte 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.
Learning organization
- Benko Deloitte 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 Benko Deloitte is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Benko Deloitte is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Benko Deloitte 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 Benko Deloitte in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Benko Deloitte to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Benko Deloitte to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Benko Deloitte 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 - Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) 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 Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) 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 Benko Deloitte has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Benko Deloitte supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Benko Deloitte vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Benko Deloitte products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Benko Deloitte needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Benko Deloitte, firm in the HBR case study Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Benko Deloitte 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Benko Deloitte 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) 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 Benko Deloitte 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Benko Deloitte is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Benko Deloitte 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Benko Deloitte is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Benko Deloitte needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Benko Deloitte to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) | 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 Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Benko Deloitte 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 Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Benko Deloitte to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Benko Deloitte can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Benko Deloitte 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Benko Deloitte can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Benko Deloitte operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Benko Deloitte has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Benko Deloitte to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) case study. Benko Deloitte can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Benko Deloitte to increase its market reach. Benko Deloitte 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Benko Deloitte can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Benko Deloitte 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.
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 Benko Deloitte in the consumer business. Now Benko Deloitte can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Benko Deloitte 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 Benko Deloitte to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Benko Deloitte is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) 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.
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. Benko Deloitte 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 Benko Deloitte can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Benko Deloitte is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Benko Deloitte needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Benko Deloitte 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
– Benko Deloitte 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.
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. Benko Deloitte 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Benko Deloitte has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Benko Deloitte 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
– Benko Deloitte 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Benko Deloitte 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B), Benko Deloitte 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, Benko Deloitte 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 Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) .
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 Benko Deloitte in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Benko Deloitte
– 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 Benko Deloitte.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) 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 Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) 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 Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) 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 Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) 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 Cathy Benko: WINning at Deloitte (B) 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 Benko Deloitte needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
