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Case Study Bain & Company

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Case Study – Organizational Development of Bain & Company

July 2, 2012

Organizational Development of Bain & Company Bain & Co. Inc. (“Bain”) is a consulting corporation,
established by Bill Bain and six former professionals from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in 1973 to
develop a strategy implementation that was markedly different from industry norms (Ormiston, 1990).
According to Bill Bain, there were four problems he wanted to fix in the traditional consulting process
specifically 1) short-term duration of projects with the report seen as the end product; 2)
recommendations not supported by relevant data; 3) no follow-through on given recommendations and
4) performance metrics (i.e., Results of the recommendations) were mostly internal (peer reviews) not
independent measures (Ormiston, 1990). Bain`s approach was to make a commitment to one company
per sector/industry – refusing to work for competitors. In the 1990s, this strategy aided Bain in
developing a deeper level of involvement with a limited number of clients. Sometimes, a customer had
as many as fifty professionals working on all aspects of the business analysis (Harvard Business School
Journal, 1990, pp. 95-96). The company de-emphasized the hype around the ‘report’, focusing instead
on helping the client successfully execute policy recommendations. The results of these
recommendations are judged by independent matrices such as the growth (or decline) of client`s stock
prices when compared to industry indices (Ormiston, 1990). In relationship-consulting, as soon as a
strong and effective client-consultant association occurs, factors that influence the new relationship
include: 1) constant and open discussions, 2) mutual trust, 3) consultant`s excellent problem-solving
skills, 4) good planning and strategy skills, 5) absolute confidentiality and 6) honesty feedback. Bain`s
participation in a company could go anywhere from two to five years, or longer. There is a perception
that long-term relationship-consulting professionals take on the culture of the client organization,
thereby, impacting (negatively) the solutions proffered. This perspective argues that organizational
politics and sometimes, the rapport between the consultant and client`s employees create a situation
whereby the recommendations will not be heeded or taken seriously. I differ with this standpoint,
because effective organizational development (“OD”) consultants operate under a code of ethics
inherent in the profession to support the consultant-client relationship. This includes being lifelong
learners (and analysts) of the external and internal business environment, and how that impacts clients;
giving relevant and honest feedback after the diagnosis stage; discovering and offering new approaches
and data-based solutions and upholding client confidentiality. Bain incorporates a holistic approach
which encompasses strategic, operational, technological and organizational practices. This style also
includes mergers and acquisitions, and economic concerns within every industry worldwide. Currently,
the company still uses the relationship-consulting approach as a framework, but has added a wide-range
of instruments to allow companies successfully implement organizational development strategies. The
tools employed include: 1) decision and management diagnostic, 2) organizational design and
restructuring, 3) decision effectiveness, 4) role of the center, 5) talent management and leadership
supply, 6) measures and incentives, 7) high-performance culture and 8) change management. Bain
concentrates on helping companies decide on the most critical choices that will affect overall
performance (Bain Consulting Services, 2012). The company goes “beyond the ‘hard’ issues of structure,
roles and processes to address the ‘soft’ elements such as people, behaviors and culture. Its` primary
objective is to insert new capabilities and repeatable processes so that people at all levels can (Bain &
Co. Organization, 2012) plan and deliver, again and again” (Bain Consulting Services, 2012). Another
approach Bain utilizes is the Results Delivery method which focuses on predicting, measuring and
managing risk associated with (PciCaribbean, 2012) any transformation implementation plan right from
the start. Results Delivery permeates all business review that Bain engages in, further increasing its
execution speed, and directed by driving forces such as balanced ambition (clear and compelling vision
mixed with realistic goals) and mobilization of leaders through a Sponsorship Spine to engage
employees. Other factors include identifying change behaviors and consequences needed to push
results, shaping execution time through planning, tracking, measuring and mitigating risks involved with
the change process. Teams must be trained for effective delivery and success must be extended by
developing a repeatable change model for the future (Bain, 2012). An outside practitioner is an
independent consultant hired by the client system. While an internal expert might be a director trained
in the implementation of OD. Corporations may decide to hire an independent consultant or create a
department of internal practitioners based on its organizational development needs. Either way, there
are inherent advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages of utilizing independent practitioners include the following: * Diverse and objective
perspective * Higher degree of influence and prestige, and more freedom to operate within the client
system * More positive roles than senior executives in a considerable change plan * Little or no
appreciation for individual powers wielded by members of the client system * Liberated from client
system`s promotions, raises, or approvals * Direct, straightforward and questions client`s opinions *
Equipped with a comprehensive career base and a secure client buffer * Independent attitude towards
taking risks and confrontations with the client system

Disadvantages include: * Unfamiliarity with the client`s system - culture, communication networks and
formal or informal power structures * Lack of technical knowledge of the industry * Incomplete and
difficult information gathering Many corporations employ full-time consultants; thereby setting up their
own private consulting departments usually between ten to thirty practitioners depending on the size of
the company. These internal consulting subdivisions are designed with respect to organizational
development, process management, information technology (External Consultants. G+O
Associates,2012) services and education.

The advantages of employing private practitioners include the following: * Most are already members of
the company who initiate the change program * Familiarity with the company`s norms and traditions *
No time wasted in learning the system, or approved by other employees * Good understanding of the
power structure * Knowledge of strategic people and how to exercise influence * Already known by
other employees of the organization * Personally vested on the success of the change implementation
and its impact on the organization

Disadvantages include: * Lack of specialized OD skills * Lack of objectivity – biased perspective * Prone
to accept the system as secure - adapting change processes to the requests of management * Previous
reputation may affect employees` ability to understand consultant`s new role as a change implementer
* Little or no power and authority for implementing the change program.

Although both approaches have some pros and cons, any OD consultant must first overcome the
obstructions caused by red tape and organizational politics to boost innovation, resourcefulness,
collaboration and confidence inside the corporation.

References

Bain & Co. (2012). Results Delivery - Change Management - Bain & Company ... (n.d.). Retrieved
from http://www.bain.com/consulting-services/results-delivery/index.aspx Brown, D. R., Harvey, D.
(2006). An Experiential Approach to Organizational Development. (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New
Jersey: Person Prentice Hall

Henderson, S. (2011). Long-Term Client-Consultant Relationships. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://justhrasia.com/long-term-client-consultant-relationships

Litre, P., Bird, A., Carey, G., Meehan, P. (2011). Results Delivery. Busting three common myths of change
management, pp. 2-12.

Mankins, M. (2012). Organization - Bain & Company - Consulting Services. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.bain.com/consulting-services/organization/index.aspx

Ormiston, C. (1990). Bain & Company, Inc.: Growing the Business. Harvard Business School, pp. 5 . 9-
391-069

Prosperity Concepts Inc., (2011). Strategy. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://pcicaribbean.com