Stroz Freidberg is a case from HBR and can be analysed from various elements of change management, growth strategy and analysing environment for implement changes for the future.
Stroz Friedberg: Case Introduction
Co-presidents Edward Stroz and Eric Friedberg were tasked with setting growth targets for 2010 in late spring of 2009. During their leadership, they established and rapidly expanded a world-renowned consulting firm focused on mitigating digital risk and discovering digital evidence. Working with the company’s CFO, they determined that sales could rise from $58 million to $72 million, an increase of 27%.
First draught plans for FY 2010 were submitted by the firm’s eleven offices, and they projected total revenues of just $53 million, a decrease of -10.2% from FY 2009. A thorough review of the company’s culture, systems, structure, and processes in late 2008 had resulted in a significant set of changes to which the organisation was still adjusting. These years of rapid growth had been successful but challenging. The exponential expansion over the previous few years was directly responsible for these modifications. Stroz and Friedberg argued about whether or not they should prioritise maintaining a high rate of growth.
For solutions to more cases like Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg, refer our Case Solutions Archives
Stroz Friedberg: Environment Analysis
Strengths
The geographic presence in different regions can act as one of the major strength of the organisation. It determines the business’s reach to the target market and ensures the easy accessibility.
The wide product portfolio can allow the organisation to expand the customer base and offset the losses from one product category with benefits obtained from the other.
Strong online presence on different social networking sites and efficient social media management can enhance the effect of positive e-WOM and develop strong relationships with customers.
Strong financial position and health can allow Stroz Friedberg to make further investments.
Access to the suppliers that offer raw material at a lower cost can improve the overall business efficiency.
The locational advantage can improve the competitive positioning of the firm in various ways, such as- lower cost, improved accessibility or enhanced brand image.
The well-developed and efficiently integrated IT infrastructure can improve the operational efficiency and increase knowledge of the latest market trends.
Competent and committed human capital can act as a powerful source of competitive advantage, particularly when business is service oriented in nature.
High product quality increases brand loyalty and improves Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg’s performance in a competitive market.
Workplace diversity can also act as a major business strength, particularly when the organisation intends to operate in the international market.
The horizontal and/or vertical integration can increase the control over whole value chain, result in improved access to raw material and quick product delivery to the final customer.
An organisation may own different intellectual property rights that can make the product offerings unique and exclusive, making it difficult for competitors to imitate.
For solutions to more cases like Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg, refer our Case Solutions Archives
Weakness
Stroz Friedberg can draw the criticism from the environmentalists for its poor waste management practices and inability to integrate sustainability in business operations.
The company may lose efficiency due to poor inventory management practices. The shortage or excessive inventory can either result into the cash shortage or insufficient current assets negatively affect the liquidity position and harms the overall business performance.
Insufficient budget for the marketing and promotion activities weakens the firms’ ability to expand the customer base and encourage repeat purchase.
Less expenditure on the research and development activities can weaken the company performance due to poor local/international market knowledge.
The inability to understand customers’ needs and expectations lead to an ineffective strategic decision-making process. With this weakness, the organisation may not be able to identify the potential improvement seeking areas in product/service mix.
The prices charged by the Stroz Friedberg may not be perceived as justified when compared to the product/service characteristics. It indicates the need to revise the pricing strategy.
The poor customer service (such as inefficient customer complaint handling) can trigger the negative word of mouth about the business and affect business growth.
The decision making in the Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg takes too much time, causing expensive delays in introducing new products in the market.
Poor project management practices can internally weaken the ability of the organisation to successfully open new branches or expand the product line for Stroz Friedberg
Lack of organisational commitment and high employee turnover can increase recruitment costs and reduce organisational productivity.
High job stress and consequent low workers’ morale makes the workforce less productive.
The misalignment between the organisation’s leadership style and its core strategic objectives can make the business organisation directionless.
Organisational culture also becomes a big internal weakness for Stroz Friedberg when it does not align with the strategic/business objectives. For example, the main strategic objective of the chosen business organisation is to launch innovative and new products in the market. But there exists a risk averse attitude prevailing in organisational culture, which discourages employees from thinking creatively.
Stroz Friedberg: Reasons of Growing Pains
The changing regulatory framework and introduction of new stricter regulations impose a major threat to the Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg. It makes compliance with legal standards more complex and challenging for the business organisation. Inability to comply with changed regulations raises the risk of expensive law suits.
Shortage of skilled labour in the market can make it difficult for the organisation to attract talent with the right skills set.
The increasing number of direct and/or indirect competitors affects the organisation’s ability to sustain and expand the customer base.
The deteriorating economic conditions affect business performance when they directly influence the customers’ spending patterns and purchasing power.
The rise in inflation increases the cost of production and affects the business profitability.
The growing environmental sustainability trends act as a major threat when offered products/services are not environment friendly. It draws the negative publicity and criticism from the environmentalists and affects the brand image in a competitive market.
The globalisation pushes the organisation to cross national boundaries and deal with cultural diversity, which may have a detrimental impact if the organisation lacks the cultural intelligence.
For solutions to more cases like Growing Pains at Stroz Friedberg, refer our Case Solutions Archives
Stroz Friedberg: Evaluation of the steps taken
Due to these growing pains, Stroz and Friedberg settled on some solutions that they hoped would help the firm come back to the normal working condition.
Communication and coordination were examined. Various systems were put in place that would allow the workers in different departments relate with each other by sharing information and collaboration. One of these systems was the of- the- shelf knowledge management system which allowed all workers to be connected.
Financial planning; matters concerning finance are very sensitive and crucial in any organization. In 2009, the Lynch’s team recommended that the firm had to develop a strategic plan that will monitor the financial matters of the firm. This involved including the workers in forming the budget for the next financial year.
The firm made a decision about the HR and the information system. The new members who were hired did not start their jobs directly as it was earlier. The senior members were to train the new members and monitor on their capability of handling the forensic department.
By doing this, the company, would get to employ well-trained members who would take up the challenge rather than employing people who could not handle the work assigned to them. The level of motivation was also added by ensuring that success celebrations were to be held at least regularly.
If you have feedback to share on the solution, please write us a note here.
We would love to hear from you. Please leave us a feedback here
Follow us on LinkedIn or Quora
Samrat is a Delhi-based MBA from the Indian Institute of Management. He is a Strategy, AI, and Marketing Enthusiast and passionately writes about core and emerging topics in Management studies. Reach out to his LinkedIn for a discussion or follow his Quora Page