Ian Davis took over the position of MD at McKinsey & Company in 2003. He has numerous opinions from in-house colleagues about future directions of the firm. But as the textbook (Transnational Management p. 461) indicates, when Rajat Gupta was MD there were unresolved concerns about the future. Assume that Ian Davis has asked you for advice.
Based on the Transnational Management book reading about McKinsey & Company (pp.461-476) and the attached articles and what you can reasonably infer from them, as well as on other course materials, answer the following questions (in a memo to McKinsey MD Ian Davis) concerning McKinsey's competitive position and strategies for future success:
1. a) Characterize the present competitive position of McKinsey & Company in the management consulting industry. Use Porter's 5 forces and provide a strategic map of the industry.
b) What trends do you see in the Economic, Political, and Cultural environment of society that will affect the industry in the future?
c) What trends to you see in the consulting industry in response to these environmental changes?
2. a) Define McKinsey & Company's present "core competence" in terms used by Hamel & Prahalad and state how it fits with McKinsey's longer term vision.
b) State how this core competence may need to change in light of the changing environment of the consulting industry over the coming decade.
3. a) What are McKinsey's organizational strengths and weaknesses?
b) How should McKinsey alter its configuration / coordination of its functions at this time in order to strengthen its global competitive position over the next decade? In other words, how should it re-structure itself?
4. a) State your 10-year Vision of McKinsey & Company. Given its Mission, what would you like to see in place in the company by 2017?
b) Name the major contradiction(s) (constraints) blocking the achievement of that vision.
c) Propose and evaluate three business strategies for addressing the contradiction(s) and reaching the vision. They should guide McKinsey as it seeks to strengthen its competitive position internationally. You need to name the strategies and say why they will be effective. Taken together, these strategies should use McKinsey's core competences and administrative heritage; they should respond to the changes in the market, and they should address its contradiction(s).