Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century
This case investigates both micro and macro issues around strategic human capital development. First, it explores how Egon Zehnder, a leading global search and advisory firm, assesses talent in the firms for which it works. The case discusses the deployment of a unique potential model that substantially shifts how the company views individuals. Within this framework, Mary Caroline Tillman, the case protagonist, is faced with an evaluation decision between two candidates who have different competencies, past experience and potential. Second, the case also explores the macro issues of running a professional services firm. The case presents an opportunity to examine how and if the organization can change its focus to include more assessment opportunities.
Swot Analysis of "Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century" written by Francesca Gino, Bradley R. Staats includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Tillman Caroline facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Labor, Leadership development, Motivating people, Performance measurement, Talent management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Tillman Caroline, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Tillman Caroline 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 Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Tillman Caroline
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 Tillman Caroline
Strengths Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Tillman Caroline in Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Tillman Caroline to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Tillman Caroline to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Tillman Caroline in the sector have low bargaining power. Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Tillman Caroline to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Tillman Caroline has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Tillman Caroline to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Tillman Caroline 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.
Training and development
– Tillman Caroline has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Analytics focus
– Tillman Caroline 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 Francesca Gino, Bradley R. Staats 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Tillman Caroline 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Tillman Caroline 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 Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Tillman Caroline 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 Tillman Caroline is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Tillman Caroline is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Tillman Caroline is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Tillman Caroline in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century, is just above the industry average. Tillman Caroline needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century 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 Tillman Caroline has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Tillman Caroline 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Tillman Caroline is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Tillman Caroline needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Tillman Caroline to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Tillman Caroline 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Tillman Caroline products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Tillman Caroline needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Tillman Caroline 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. Tillman Caroline 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Tillman Caroline 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, Tillman Caroline is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Francesca Gino, Bradley R. Staats suggests that, Tillman Caroline 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century, in the dynamic environment Tillman Caroline has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Tillman Caroline has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century | 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 Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century are -
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 Tillman Caroline in the consumer business. Now Tillman Caroline can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Tillman Caroline 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, Tillman Caroline can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Tillman Caroline operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Tillman Caroline 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Tillman Caroline 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 Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Tillman Caroline to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Tillman Caroline 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 Tillman Caroline can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Tillman Caroline can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Tillman Caroline 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 Tillman Caroline to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Tillman Caroline 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, Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century, 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 Tillman Caroline to increase its market reach. Tillman Caroline 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.
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 Tillman Caroline 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Tillman Caroline 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.
Threats Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century are -
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. Tillman Caroline can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Tillman Caroline in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Tillman Caroline with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Tillman Caroline.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century, Tillman Caroline 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Tillman Caroline 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.
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. Tillman Caroline 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Tillman Caroline 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.
Environmental challenges
– Tillman Caroline 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. Tillman Caroline 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
– Tillman Caroline has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Tillman Caroline 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.
Increasing wage structure of Tillman Caroline
– 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 Tillman Caroline.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Tillman Caroline 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Tillman Caroline 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century 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 Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century 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 Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century 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 Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century 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 Mary Caroline Tillman at Egon Zehnder: Spotting Talent in the 21st Century 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 Tillman Caroline needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
