Business Strategies of PriceWaterhouseCoopers - Term Paper Example

Business Strategy Table of Contents Business Strategy Table of Contents 2 I. Current Situation: 4 A. Current Performance and Position in the Market  4 B. Strategic Posture:  4 1. Mission & Vision 4 2. Objectives  5 3. Strategies 5 4. Policies 6 II. Strategic Managers:  6 A. Board of Directors & Top Management  6 III. External Environment:  7 A. Natural Environment  7 B. Social Environment:  7 1. Economics  7 2. Technological  8 3. Political-legal  8 4. Socio-cultural  9 C. Task Environment  9 IV. Internal Environment:  10 A. Corporate Structure  10 B. Corporate Culture  10 C. Corporate Resources:  11 1. Marketing  11 2. Finance  12 3. R&D  12 4. Operations  12 5. Human Resources  13 6. Information Systems  13 V. Analysis of Strategic Factors:  14 A. Situational Analysis (SWOT)  14 1. Strengths  14 2. Weaknesses  15 3. Opportunities  15 4. Threats  16 B. Review of current Mission and Objectives  16 VI. Strategic Alternatives and Recommended Strategy  17 A. Strategic Alternatives  17 B. Recommended Strategy  17 VII. Implementation  18 VIII. Evaluation and Control 18 References 20 I. Current Situation: A. Current Performance and Position in the Market  PriceWaterhouseCoopers has been placed at number one rank in Australia and UK. The report prepared by Kennedy cites the company as market leader in the field of financial consulting. It also states that the risk consulting services of the company is one of the best in the world. (PricewaterhouseCoopers-d, 2010). For the financial year 2008-09 Ernst & Young Switzerland reported revenues of CHF 545.8 million. This enabled the company to establish a strong position in the market. The company is market leader in the field of tax, assurance, advisory and transaction services (Ernst & Young-d, n.d.). B. Strategic Posture:  1. Mission & Vision PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) is based on a “culture of partnership” with a commercial focus. The vision of the company is to establish itself as a ‘commercial powerhouse’ with the reputation of doing what is right for the various market segments catered by it. The mission of the company is to build itself as an iconic firm in the field of professional services which is always at the forefront (PricewaterhouseCoopers-a, 2010). The main mission of Ernst & Young is to support and stimulate excellence in the realm of education with a special emphasis on higher education and also for the preparation of a career in professional services (Ernst & Young-a, n.d.). 2. Objectives  The principal objective of PwC is to establish itself highly in the area of professional services by catering to the related needs of the various market segments. The firm works towards maximizing the overall effectiveness of an organization. Ernst & Young is guided by the objective of establishing itself as a global entity engaged in improvement of the global businesses. 3. Strategies PwC assists its network of clients by responding with alacrity and agility to the various opportunities by taking upon strategic initiatives that are both forward-looking and also enable the organizations to retain its competitive edge. The key proposition of the company for its clients is “strategy as execution” which refers to creation of a pragmatic strategy aimed at execution right from the point of design of the strategy. This facilitates the creation of value via execution and is not just limited to mere ‘report’. In order to realize this firm adopts a collaborative approach figuring out the ‘how’ and ‘what’ relating to strategy execution right from the beginning. The firm addresses various agenda of the CEO or the Board starting from a health check of the strategy through its development to its deployment with a focus on the performance horizon of 3 to 5 years (PricewaterhouseCoopers-b, 2010). Ernst & Young has guided a number of dynamic and ambitious businesses on their way to the top from the point of a start-up. The firm’s network of strategic growth market works towards serving the evolving needs and unique challenges faced by the fast growing companies across the globe. The firm works towards making a difference by adapting its resources, capabilities and experience as per the requirements of the business. The professionals at the company guide the businesses through the process of the IPO (Ernst & Young-b, n.d.). 4. Policies The Global Code of Conduct at the company sets forth the issues relating to privacy ad confidentiality of its clients and others with whom the company is engaged in various activities. The policy of the company is to adhere to the requirements of US Department of Commerce Safe Harbor Program in matters relating to personal information that are transmitted from EU to US (PricewaterhouseCoopers-c, 2010). Ernst & Young has the policy on the privacy of data which lays down the principles to be followed with respect to the use and preservation of any personal form of data which includes data relating to past, current and prospective details of personnel, suppliers, client and business associates (Ernst & Young-c, 2010). II. Strategic Managers:  A. Board of Directors & Top Management  The Executive Board of PwC comprises of Ian Powell who serves as Chairman and Senior Partner, James Chalmers, Head of Strategy and Talent; Richard Collier-Keywood as Managing Partner; Kevin Ellis is Head of Advisory; Owen Jonathan as General Counsel; Barry Marshall as Head of Tax; Kevin Nicholson as Head of Regions; Paul Rawlinson as Head of Markets and Industries; Richard Sexton as Head of Assurance and Keith Tilson as Chief Financial Officer (PricewaterhouseCoopers-e, 2010). These board members hold top positions in the company management. The Board of Ernst & Young comprises of Scott Halliday, Andy Baldwin, Lisa Cameron, John Flaherty, Robin Health, Alisdair Mann, Andrew McIntyre, Robert Overend and Robin Tye (Ernst & Young-e, 2010). The Global Executive Board at Ernst & Young is headed by the company Chairman and CEO (Chief Executive Board). This includes Chief Operating Officer, Area Managing Partners, Vice Chairs in the global Service Line, Global leaders across various functions and a representative from the “emerging markets practices” (Ernst & Young-f, n.d.). III. External Environment:  A. Natural Environment  Natural environments play a major role in the business prospects of organizations. Natural environment factors largely include weather, climate changes and other associated aspects. PWC and Ernst and Young both have similar lines of business in the area of consulting and business research. Being in the services sector natural weather has little implications on the business prospects as no manufacturing raw materials are required. However natural disasters in nations can adversely impact the business prospects of both the firms as a disaster in an area may lead to reduction in demand for the products of the firms in those areas leading to considerable threats for both these organizations. Both firms must therefore frame contingency plans to help ensure risk management abilities so as to ensure minimal possible negative impacts on the business prospects and sustainability of their business profitability. B. Social Environment:  1. Economics  Economic factors have a significant role in the business prospects of organizations. The business areas of PWC and Ernst and Young are largely similar and both operate in the services industry. Hence economic environment affects the business prospects of both these organizations in an equal manner. Economic factors like GDP levels, public investments largely affect the business prospects of both PWC and Ernst and Young in a similar manner (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington, 2009, p.66). Both the countries have their presence in the top developed nations of the world as well as developing nations like India and China. This ensures suitable business prospects for both these organizations for maintaining the profitability and sustainability. 2. Technological  Technological factors include advances in technological aspects like information technology as well as other application oriented innovations that tend to induce competitive advantage to business organizations. In order to remain competitive it is imperative for both the firms to adopt latest technological innovations in business research. Innovations and its diffusion into the culture of the organizations would largely help them serve their clients in a better fashion as the reports would be more viable technically. Considering the internal strengths of both these organizations it is highly imperative that they adopt different technological innovations so as to ensure greater sustainability and profitability. 3. Political-legal  Political and legal frameworks are largely influenced by the government of a region. Since PWC as well as Ernst and Young have their business operations in diverse nations apart from their traditional markets hence this calls for proactive steps on the part of the governments to ensure sustainability and protection of their assets in the foreign markets. Aspects like labour laws, compensation laws and regulatory frameworks are equally applicable to both PWC and Ernst and Young. Apart from this legal aspects are also important which includes acceptance of the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (Vance, Charles & Paik, 2010, p.10). 4. Socio-cultural  Socio cultural aspects normally include the demographic and sociological faiths and beliefs of the individuals. PWC and Ernst and Young have a diversified workforce comprising of human resources who hail from different caste creed and background. Hence it becomes imperative for both these organizations to largely include the aspects of social behavior and culture while formulating their business strategy. The firms must ensure that there is no discrimination in the workplace due to social aspects. Since their product or service portfolio does not include individual products hence this aspect becomes limited to its influence only in the area of human resource management. C. Task Environment  Ernst and Young as well as PWC both of these fall in the league of the big four consultancy firms. The brand image of these organizations and the excellent career opportunities provided by them makes both these organizations a dream workplace for every individual. However being one of the fortune 100 companies Ernst and Young scores over PWC with regards to attractiveness among the potential employees. The global presence and diversified clientele of both these organizations ensures a good mix of opportunity and diversification that largely helps employees enhance their learning curves. IV. Internal Environment:  A. Corporate Structure  The Executive Board of PwC has 10 members. The Supervisory Board of the company is independent of its Executive Board. Fifteen members are selected from the Supervisory Board by the partners of the firms for a term of three years. The Executive Board’s Chairman and two members from the PwC International Board serve as exofficio member of the Supervisory Board (PricewaterhouseCoopers-e, 2010), Ernst & Young has one strong worldwide leadership team that frames a single set of international agenda and strategy. In order to ensure efficiency and effectiveness the company has organized itself into 29 business units which are identical in size in respect of both people and revenue. These business units are grouped into four main geographical areas Asia-Pacific, Americas, Japan and Europe, India, Middle East & Africa. The leadership teams of each unit falls within the direct control of its respective global and area leader in order to ensure impeccable work standards (Ernst & Young-f, n.d.). B. Corporate Culture  The professionals at PwC are at the centre of the company’s success and business strategy. The company hires top talent with the strong focus on diversity and inclusion of people from various nontraditional and traditional backgrounds with the purpose of building a great workplace. The employees of the company are equipped with tools like valuable professional experience, daily coaching, productive and timely feedback and superior development and learning opportunities (PricewaterhouseCoopers-f, 2010), The culture at Ernst & Young lends strong support in the area of consultation and collaboration and puts a special emphasis on the significance of consulting in handling subjective or complex accounting, reporting, auditing, independence and regulatory matters. The company advocates integrity and conduct of high-quality audits among all its professionals. The collaborative culture at the workplace encourages the people to open up in case of professional disagreement or in problems arising from client engagement (Ernst & Young-e, 2010). C. Corporate Resources:  1. Marketing  PwC has developed an extensive marketing, communication and public relations regime to extend its customer base. The company has emphasizes on the integration of sales and marketing verticals. The company has put its effort to align the sales and marketing in alignment with the corporate strategy. Consumer segmentation is necessary to cater the consumers in a better and enhanced way. PwC has focused on the IT companies. As a result, PwC not only serves several leading technology companies across Europe as well as the globe. Furthermore, the company has also served the young companies which have great potential to be succeeded in the future (Young, 2005, p. 285-288). Ernst & Young relies on the standard marketing activities which consist of mailing advertisements in the print media, digital media like TV and continual internet presence. The company has a dedicated marketing and PR team to develop and maintain a good relationship with its client base. 2. Finance  In the year 2010, the turnover of PwC is £ 2,331 m. After deducting the expenses, the net revenue has come around £ 2069 m. The operating income for the company has come around £ 680 m, while the net profit for the financial year has been £ 642 m. In the same year, the revenue from the worldwide operation of Ernst & Young has come to US $ 21.3 billion. The Asia pacific area has experienced the highest growth of 9 % among its operation across the globe. Over the last four years, the company has invested over US $ 1.2 billion in the emerging markets (Ernst & Young, 2010). 3. R&D  Both of these companies have dedicated research and development divisions to service their customers in a better and enhanced way. Both of these companies offer consultancy services to its client base which also include preparing report for the same. These activities demand a good deal of research to offer enhanced service to its clients. 4. Operations  PwC is looking forward to extend its service to other countries, which are still not added in its network. The company is structured as a member of the network organizations. PwC is present in some 151 countries where it is operating locally. The company has been more focused to attain sustainable performance and growth throughout the years. Ernst & Young operates in the professional service industry with offering service in assurance, technology, auditing, and enterprise risk management, security risk, real estate advisory services, mergers and acquisition to its customers. Furthermore, the organization offers corporate finance services as well as entrepreneurial services to various industries like energy, chemicals, automotive, real estate, financial, consumer products, health and entertainment industries. 5. Human Resources  Ernst and Young have identified its crucial qualified and skilled employees across the globe. According to the organization, recruiting the outstanding people is a beginning to a skillful and talented employee base. The company ensures that the management should listen to the feedbacks provided by the employees; this is not only a way to value the employees, rather it would also help to be beneficial for the organization as well as its clients. Furthermore, the company offers learning, experiences and training to understand the requirements of the employees, to enrich their careers and to offer the best results for the clients. The company also hosts additional programs for the present as well as future leaders of this leading organization. The company motivates its employees to feel motivated and excited about the work, the colleagues and the work environment which would offer them enough flexibility to achieve their professional as well as personal aspirations. The company takes interest in its human resources and does not forget to reward the right people for a job well done. 6. Information Systems  With the advancement in technology, both of these organizations have enhanced their operations further to offer better service to their clients. PwC has introduced a large client information system which offers regulatory information to the clients. Furthermore, it is a quick and efficient way to fetch relevant information about the accounting in the respective industry. The system enables easy navigation, full text search engine, keyword index and dictionary which all are available online for the clients. This surely enhances the company’s services and offerings (PwC, 2011). Ernst & Young has its passion for quality. The company uses enhanced technology to cater its customers in a better way. The organisation has integrated its services and verticals using integrated IT service which has proved to be effective for both the company as well as its customers. V. Analysis of Strategic Factors:  A. Situational Analysis (SWOT)  1. Strengths  The main strengths of PWC include a worldwide global reach and presence in almost all the developed and developing nations. In addition to these certain other strengths also include a large bouquet of products and service offered to the clients, a good financial health comprised of good monetary resources and a strong and diversified client base. However the most important strength lies in the brand image of the organization which helps it to emerge as one of the most profitable firm of the world (Datamonitor, 2006, p.23). The major strengths of Ernst and Young also include strong company financials, diversified and large number of clients, presence in numerous nations and finally good brand image which is evident from the fact that it features among the list of fortune 100 companies (Datamonitor-a, 2007, p.18). 2. Weaknesses  In spite of being one of the most successful organizations operating in the business markets, PWC suffers from certain drawbacks which primarily include a marginal dip in the revenues earned from the global clients for auditing business processes. The company also faced a number of lawsuits for violating norms and non adherence of compliance which had significant effects on the brand image and positioning of the organization in the business markets (Datamonitor, 2006, p.23). On the other hand weaknesses in the business of Ernst and Young primarily include a slow growth in the most important markets of the firm in European nations particularly on account of the financial meltdown and economic recession that took a toll on the revenues and margins of the clients of the company. The company’s business is largely dependent on the assurance and its associated advisory businesses. Finally violations of accounting norms have also led to erosion in the brand image of the organization (Datamonitor-a, 2007, p.18). 3. Opportunities  The main opportunities of PWC include enhanced and good demand of business organizations to ensure compliance with the norms. This has led to more contracts for the firm. The introduction of IFRS in many nations has also opened up business prospects for the firm. The increase in demand for consulting service from Asia has also generated considerable future opportunities for the organization (Datamonitor, 2006, p.23). Opportunities at Ernst and Young mainly arise from large scale opportunities in deals involving private equity as these have become the buzzword of the capital markets. The economic growth of business organizations mainly in the developing nations has also opened up a plethora of opportunities for the organization in terms of new clients for providing business research solutions. The inclusion of Mitchell and Titus in the organizational framework of Ernst and Young has also enabled the firm to venture and diversify into areas like risk management and procedures (Datamonitor-a, 2007, p.18). 4. Threats  In spite of the numerous market opportunities and considerable internal strengths PWC also faces a considerable number of threats which include increased competition among the market players which has eroded the profit margins of the firm. Large scale consolidation of business in the end markets have also opened up threats for the organization. Finally large scale scrutiny by the regulatory authorities has also emerged as a considerable threat for the organization (Datamonitor, 2006, p.23). Threats for Ernst and Young mainly arise from large scale competition among the market players, as well as increased compliance and strict adherence of norms in the nations and finally takeover rules which have become more stringent are largely emerging as issues that can pose considerable threat to the business prospects of the organization (Datamonitor-a, 2007, p.18). B. Review of current Mission and Objectives  PwC wants to establish itself as a global powerhouse in the area of professional services. The company has been able to achieve significantly in this area by as reflected from the rise in its annual turnover against a challenging economic scenario. This falls in line with the strategic decision of the company to invest in clients, people and businesses for the purpose of strong future growth. Ernst & Young also works towards using proven and consistent methodologies and integrating right teams and uses its vast reach of global experience and capabilities to meet the requirements of its clients in any part of the globe. This is in line with the company’s objective of establishing itself as a global entity for fulfilling the requirements of the global businesses (Ernst & Young-g, n.d.). VI. Strategic Alternatives and Recommended Strategy  A. Strategic Alternatives  Both of these companies can extend its operation further to other countries. In such a way, the companies would be able to fetch a new market to enhance its revenue further. In this way, the organizations would grow larger with an extended client base to offer its services. This is a strategy to offer the existing services in an entirely new market. Another strategy can be to offer new services in the existing market. Both of these companies can extend their service base further to capture an extended customer base. The company can launch its new services to the new markets. However, this does not seem to be a good option for the company as the market is altogether new to the organization where it is required to build its customer base from the scratch. Another option is penetrating the existing customer base with enhancement in the services they are offering. This is precisely meant to increase the loyalty of the customers towards the organization. The organizations can opt for any of the above strategies or can take an integrated approach towards two, three or all of the strategies. B. Recommended Strategy  Both of these companies are working in the service industry, offering consultancy services to their customers. In a service industry, it is very much important to keep good relationship with the clients. The organizations can opt for an integrated approach towards extending their operations in new markets while penetrating their existing customer base with existing and new products. However, the companies must invest more into the desirable service units to enhance their revenue and profitability margins. VII. Implementation  At start, both these organizations are required to do enough research to find out the new but profitable and promising market to expand its business in. In such a situation, they can set up a new company altogether or to acquire a firm in that respective country. The companies can also go for merging; however it will not worth of if the target companies are not large enough to make it a match. If the companies decide to come up with new services, they must understand that the services must be in alignment with the companies’ images and their existing service line up. The most important strategy implementation would be in keeping up a sustainable relationship with the clients. The employees are required to understand that the financial goals can be achieved through customer centric strategy implementation. Furthermore, the companies must train the employees in a way, where they would be in a better position to offer enhanced service to the customers. VIII. Evaluation and Control After the strategy implementation, evaluation and control is necessary to sustain the positive consequences. The company must take all of its stakeholders into account and involve them in the process to successfully implement the strategy. A review of the goals, objectives, strategies and consequences can reveal the success or failure of the strategy adopted. References Datamonitor. (2006). PricewaterhouseCoopers. [Pdf]. Available at: http://favormall.net/clientimages/38996/business-pricewaterhouse.pdf [Accessed on May 13, 2011]. Datamonitor-a. (2007). Ernst and Younng. 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