Mckinsey & Company Firm Analysis

What are the firm’s core competencies, products, services & industry sectors?

 McKinsey & Company is a global consulting firm that offers management solutions to the private and public sector. The organization prides in being a global leader in matters of consultations, and they have such a large employee population that allows the organization to expedite consultations across the globe (Manyika et al. 4).  The organization also helps their clients in implementation after consultations. The organization is built on a number of competencies such as results orientation, collaboration and influencing, strategic orientation and customer impact.  One of the competencies that make the organization stronger is their vision and inspiration to be the best consulting firm in the world, motivated employees, commitment to quality and customer satisfaction and lifelong learning.  The organization therefore The competencies allow the company to drive improvement, think beyond the common conceptual thinking and also ensure that customers are served best.  The organization owes most of its success to their strategic competencies which have enable them to move from the basic step of business analytics, product development, to the extreme level of marketing and selling the products. It is a functional approach that has enabled the organization to help boost the performance of their clients for a long time. 

 McKinsey & Company offers a wide range of services such as in designing, implementation, marketing and sales, actual operations of the facility, risk management and enhancing sustainability and resource productivity to their customers. The company is a consulting firm that concentrates in giving consultations about management issues among other business-related matters to their clients and their implementation afterwards. The organization essentially provides consultations to firms regarding how they can improve their business performance and realize their organizational set goals. As a consulting firm, McKinsey & Company liaises with a wide range of industries (“Competencies that Generate Growth – Return on Leadership” n.p.). They provide consultation for industries such as financial services, retail services, media and entertainment, telecommunications, travel and logistics, healthcare, and infrastructure. McKinsey & Company is, therefore, an all-around company in the provision of services to scores of industries.

Who are the key leaders and what are they known for?

 McKinsey & Company is an organization that has such a devolved leadership. Unlike their competitors, the organization does not have a formal hierarchical management. That does not however mean that the organization does not have formal leadership.  Since the organization operates across the globe, the organization avoids the formation of a centralized form of governance and rather incorporates a devolved system of devolved governance where departments are divided with regard to the country. The heads of each country are called senior partners and are expected to run the business of the company in their specific countries with utmost regard to the larger organization. 

 The head of the organization on a global perspective is the global managing partner. At the present, the global managing partner or else the head of the organization is Kelvin Sneader who is an established financial advisor who has been in the firm since 1989 and held the position of the organizations regional leaders in Asia from 2014 to 2018. Below the global managing partner are other leaders who are called the practice leaders and who are also part of the organization advising and strategic committee (“Our People | Organization” n.p.). To name a few, Ana Karina is the senior partner in Sao Paulo, Amadeo Di Lodovico is the senior partner in Dubai, Arne Gast is the partner in Kuala Lampur and Scott Keller is the senior partner in California. The organization has a widespread leadership is hence it is hard to understand the powers and abilities vested on each individual leader. However, every elected leader must be an established consultant with inherent management ability. Sneader for instance was elected to the position of the global management partner after having showed his skills as a regional director for four years.

What is the firm’s employee career structure?

 Contrary to what would be expected of McKinsey & Company, the organization does not utilize a hierarchical structure. Rather, the organization uses an employee career structure whereby everyone is placed on the same level in terms of opinion. The decision on how to make a certain change does not rest on the shoulders of the management alone (“McKinsey & Company Competitors, Revenue and Employees – Owler Company Profile” n.p.). It is a collective approach whereby everyone is given an equal chance to be heard in the decision making of the organization.

  A flattened organizational structure is one of the greatest strengths of the organization. It makes the junior employees execute their duties with a feeling of belonging. It also enhances a spirit of union among all the organizational stakeholders. The employee career structure also allows employees who are competent enough to practice in their fields of specialization without fearing humiliation from the senior employees. The employee career structure is guarded by engagement managers who refer to employees as “Our People.” By adopting in such an arrangement, the management has been able to create an employee populace that is committed to providing quality.

Who are the direct and indirect competitors?

 McKinsey & Company engages in one of the most volatile specializations of work. The organization engages in the consultation industry where there are as many active players in the market. In viewing competition, we will view companies that provide similar or almost similar services and which are as strong as McKinsey & Company. By being established in an environment where there are many providers of the same service, McKinsey & Company, therefore, suffers instrumental competition, most of which is direct.

 The greatest competitors that threaten the existence of McKinsey & Company is Deloitte, BCG, Bain & Company, Oliver Wayman among others. Some of the companies are higher in revenue sourcing. For instance, Deloitte trades on revenue of $38.8 Billion which is such a high amount. On the other hand, McKinsey & Company trades at $10B according to Forbes (“McKinsey & Company on the Forbes Best Employers for Diversity List” n.p.). The organization faces instrumental competition because most of the companies that it competes were established before it and so they have gained a reputation for being in the market actively over the years (“McKinsey & Company Competitors, Revenue and Employees – Owler Company Profile”  n.p.). Others just trade above it because clients prefer them for having worked before McKinsey& Company came into shape. The organization has however made use of different approaches that have enables it to thrive in the market regardless of the stiff competition that it faces. Such approaches are inclusive of diverse marketing, improved customer experience, using customer incentives and evaluation of previous encounters to make improvements.

 Who are the primary clients and in what business areas?

 By nature of their business, McKinsey & Company does not have a clique of clients that they would list as their primary clients. The organization has specialists from across the divide. They have clients in medicine, in engineering, in telecommunication and also those who are in finance among others (“Competencies that Generate Growth – Return on Leadership” n.p.). Any client that comes for services from the organization is treated as a primary because they are the primary focus of the organization. They are the focal reason as to why the organization was established since it is a consulting firm. The organization tries their best to conserve old clients.  Their old clients like Hewlett Packard are old clients to the firm who have been maintained because of the excellent services. 

 By having specialists from across the field of any kind of profession, McKinsey & Company offers business advice to all clients that visit them. They offer credible advice and consultation on almost every spectrum that regards matters of business and livelihood (Dyer and Counsell 2). They can showcase the advantages and disadvantages of any type of industry across the globe due to their established research skills such as organization, communication and IT and digital skills. The firm is, therefore, a competent consultancy firm in all business fields.

Who are the business partners and for what purpose?

 McKinsey & Company makes partnerships with any firm that they deem is specialized in any field that is currently in practice. The organization will liaise with electrical specialists, law specialists, business and agricultural specialists among others. As a single entity, the organization cannot be able to provide consulting services in every country where they presently operate. They would also not be able to provide consultation services to such a wide spectrum of clients as they serve today (Jong, Marston and Roth n.p.). The organization thus strategized and partnered with various organizations that provide different services across the globe to ease their process of delivery.

 As of the present, McKinsey prides of having more 2000 partners as per their press release on 2018. They currently operate in 127 cities and in 65 countries. It, therefore, means that the organization needed partners who can perform both locally and internationally to reach out to a large number of clients as well as to enhance their delivery of quality services.

 Which markets does the firm compete in?

 McKinsey & Company competes in different markets. They compete in High tech Consumer packages goods, financial services, travel transport and logistics, pharmaceuticals media and entertainment among other different fields. (“McKinsey & Company Competitors, Revenue and Employees – Owler Company Profile” n.p.).The organization is one that prides in having instrumental leadership influence in the field of finance and in the field of insurance. The organization competes heavily in the two fields because they are the basic fields on which the organization was established. Most of the revenue that has been gained by the organization is sourced due to consultations made on the two. 

 In view of the markets where they traverse, the organization operates in markets across the world. McKinsey is an international organization that serves in 65 countries which means that their market is in America, Africa, and Asia and almost every continent. The company, therefore, faces a diverse market that is influenced by different forces. It is a market that is stable for the firm since the risk is diversified such that if the organization does not find clients in one locality, they can be assured of clients in every country (Bughin and Chui 37). Changes in business approaches do not also adversely affect the business as it is a consulting firm that is suited to provide consultation in any environment.

What is the firm’s strategic direction for the near future?

 In the near future, McKinsey & Company want to introduce a new methodological approach of dealing with the existing market. The organization purposes to make instrumental use of technology such that consultations do not have to be just physical (Jong, Marston and Roth n.p.). The organization wants to expedite and enhance another formation whereby clients can make consultations over digital platforms such as in videoconferences.

 The organization also has a strategic plan where they aim to increase their number of partners. Increasing the number of partners will increase coverage which will consequently increase the revenue that is earned by the firm. 

 McKinsey & Company also has a plan to make a more improved client service. The improvement of the client service will require going back and rethinking how customer interactions should be done. The company plans to make use of insight-generating partnerships which will enable it to evaluate customer experiences, follow on their application of the advice given in consultation sessions, among others (O’Mahoney and Sturdy 248). This strategic goal will be realized alongside an improved employee relationship. The organization also, therefore, wishes to improve employee experience such that their interactions with the clients will be improved. The organization plans to digitize the process such that they can create online electricity accounts for their clients such that every type of consultation and other activities can happen on the platform (Markovitch and Willmott n.p.). It will be an invention that will ensure that most of the physical duties are done on the virtual platform thereby improving customer experience. 

Works Cited

“Competencies That Generate Growth – Return On Leadership.” Competencies that Generate Growth – Return on Leadership. N.p., 2015. Web. 22 Jan. 2019.

“Mckinsey & Company Competitors, Revenue And Employees – Owler Company Profile.” Owler. N.p., 2019. Web. 22 Jan. 2019.

“Mckinsey & Company On The Forbes Best Employers For Diversity List.” Forbes. N.p., 2019. Web. 23 Jan. 2019.

“Our People | Organization.” McKinsey & Company. N.p., 2019. Web. 22 Jan. 2019.

Bughin, Jacques, and Michael Chui. “Evolution of the networked enterprise: McKinsey Global Survey results.” McKinsey Quarterly 29 (2013): 34-41.

Dyer, Nathaniel, and Simon Counsell. “McREDD: How McKinsey ‘cost curves are distorting REDD.” Rainforest Foundation Climate and Forests Policy Brief (2010).

Jong, Mark, Nathan Marston, and Eric Roth. “The Eight Essentials Of Innovation.” McKinsey & Company. N.p., 2019. Web. 22 Jan. 2019.

Manyika, James, et al. “Unlocking the Potential of the Internet of Things.” McKinsey Global Institute (2015).

Markovitch, Shahar, and Paul Willmott. “Accelerating The Digitization Of Business Processes.” McKinsey & Company. N.p., 2014. Web. 23 Jan. 2019.

O’Mahoney, Joe, and Andrew Sturdy. “Power and the diffusion of management ideas: The case of McKinsey & Co.” Management Learning 47.3 (2016): 247-265.