#1. The Challenge – Future is shaped by non-linear changes and chance events? How can you prepare your organization for an uncertain future? (Answer for Tata Consultancy Svcs).
Yes, it is unequivocally true that the future is indeed shaped by non-linear changes. These changes sometimes cause events which appear as chance events, but an organization can prepare for an uncertain future in several ways. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) can continue to prepare its organization for an uncertain future first of all, by remaining sensitive to the shifts in economic, demographic business needs, and environmental forces (Govindarajan). The classic example of how an organization can prepare to meet such diverse challenges accompanying changes, is when TCS anticipated the need for implementation of a change in operations, although its firm was successfully functioning at the height of the ‘call-center’ era. Recognizing the extra strain on the HR department, for having to accommodate rising turnover by hiring millions more, would be an unfruitful hassle that “drained resources and distracted the company from its real goal” (Govindarajan 2016). The real goal, of course, being to ride the future trend of better technology by offering more sophisticated and higher service levels via the Internet’s cloud.
#2. The Starting Point – Companies must recognize weak signals of change. What are these? A) Who will be future customers? B) What disruptive technologies will open up new opportunity-spaces? C) Whom will you compete against in the future? D) Will the go-to market change? And E) What are potential regulatory reforms by government that affect you?
When companies recognize the weak signals of change, they manifest in knowing who future customers will be, new disruptive technologies, future competitors, ‘go-to’ market changes, and need to operate within any emerging governmental regulatory protocols. To identify future customers, real-world research must be conducted. One example provided in the Harvard Business Review article, noted how TCS engaged the help of its massive staff of employees, to “share their perceptions about discontinuous industry shifts” (Govindarajan 5). If you really think about it, an organization’s employees are an invaluable source of current, real-life information. This workable data may be gleaned by software, to fine-tune the areas of likelihood of who the new customers will be, and what is important to them. In terms of which disruptive technologies will open-up new opportunity spaces, has to do with global economic forces, and the preferred ways of changes how customers choose to access learning about the products/services they need.
Being aware of your organization’s specific industrial patterns will enormously aid in identification of the new disruptive technologies in opening up new spaces. One way to do this in a win-win situation is to engage a strategic or cooperative alliance. Obviously, all companies are competing now, and in the especially in the future, on an international scale. As one source suggested, several reasons for forming kinds of strategic alliances help companies enter restricted markets, “overcome trade barriers,” facilitate new product developments, and basically share the risks of uncertainty in response to new patterns in marketplace demands (“Chapter 9 Creating and Maintaining”). The other concern at the starting point of planned, and implemented changes for the organization, involves knowledge of precise identification of your future competition. This is where market research comes in, and must be kept current. Therefore, the creation of a specialized task-force is in order, in much the same way TCS utilized the Ultimatix “internal digital platform” (Govindarajan 5). Remember, this is a process.
#3. The Way Forward – The organization must develop a program of experimentation, stimulate new approaches (SWOT, etc.). What new experiments would you recommend to the company of Tata Consultancy Services?
Tata Consultancy Services must begin to experiment with forming cross-border alliances, which mutually enhance the business activities of the relationship. As essentially an Indian firm, TCS might experiment with branching out to compete across borders. This is important, because since we are in the midst of an ever-increasing global economic environment, worldwide business is based upon “improved communications,” and even beyond regional agreements more so towards foreign investment strategies to leverage core competencies, and gain “a significant advantage in a country or region” (“Chapter 8 Competing Across Borders”). In other words, TCS must move away from remaining in their comfort zone because the changes will keep increasing, and move in directions of other cultural spaces as well. If TCS stays in the same mindset of only operating in the comfortably predictable space of India, then it will most likely miss valuable opportunities in other cultural spaces for business opportunities. This sort of stagnation, in being satisfied with having identified a ‘weak signal’ then progress towards maintaining revenue success, does not necessarily guarantee profitability in the future. It is unwise to fall into the trap of generalizing over time.
Therefore, TCS must develop a program of experimentation, and stimulation towards this end. By utilizing a SWOT approach in evaluation of their current situation, TCS may turn its weaknesses into gold. By stimulating a SWOT evaluation on bi-monthly intervals, different analysis tools can immensely re-define directions in how TCS can build strategic alliances with other entities outside of India. In this way, a shared goal of gaining knowledge of taking advantage of new globally-available market opportunities will stimulate confidence, and more business.
However, cautions are in order. For example, TCS must not advance too rapidly into unfamiliar marketplace waters. If TCS decides on promulgation of a foreign investment venture, it must carefully weigh its resources and analyze what it hopes to gain from the deal. If the company perceives its capability as doable, then sizing up the competitive rivalry and learning how to assess its core competencies in the new ‘foreign-space’ is critical (“Chapter 8 Competing Across Borders”). While it is true that transnational strategies can be tricky, with good research and awareness, TCS may avoid political unstable hot-spots, and capture productive areas of its operations as it expands. It is highly recommended that TCS should deploy the appropriate analysis model for the task in forging a pathway forward. Whether using TOWS or the SFAS method, will depend upon the outcomes of its research and goals for expansion into management of international market-entry.
Works Cited
“Chapter 8 Competing Across Borders.” [Handout]. City, State. n.d. Printable from online source.
“Chapter 9 Creating and Maintaining Alliances.” [Handout]. Reasons for Developing Strategic Alliances. City, State. n.d. Printable from online source.
Govindarajan, Vijay. “Planned Opportunism – Using weak signals to spur innovation.” [Handout]. Harvard Business Review. City, State. 2016. Printable from online source.
