Group 6

Sashi Bhusan Prasad 2020SMN6739

Yogesh Sood 2020SMN6740

1. How was this obscure little firm of "accounting and engineering advisors" able to grow
into the world's most prestigious consulting firm fifty years later? What was the unique
source of competitive advantage developed by James O. Mckinsey and later Marvin
Bower?

Answer:

James O. Mckinsey

Mckinsey was founded by James O. Mckinsey, professor of accountancy at University of Chicago.

Mckinsey was founded as accounting and engineering advisors.

He hired executives and trained them in integrated approach named as General Survey outline.
He trained them to lead consultants through an “undeviating sequence” of analysis – goals,
strategy, policies, organization, facilities, procedures, and personnel – while still encouraging
them to synthesize data and think for themselves.

Marvin Bower

• He changed company’s image as “efficiency experts” or “business doctors”.

• He outlined his vision of firm as one focused on issues of importance to top-level
management, adhering to the highest standards of integrity, professional ethics and
technical excellence, able to attract and develop young men of outstanding qualifications
and committed to continually raising its stature and influence.
• One firm policy – consultants to be recruited and advanced on a firm-wide basis and
clients also treated as company’s responsibilities.
• Articulated policy to make sure that every assignment brings to firm something more
than revenue- experience or prestige.
• Took steps to make a series of major changes that turned McKinsey into an elite
consulting firm unable to meet demand for its services.
• Marvin expanded the firm geographically and opened new offices at Geneva, Amsterdam,
Dusseldorf, and Paris.

The company growth was majorly led by their top management vision for company and trust in
company’s capability. They guided the company to develop skill in providing consulting to clients
with more researched and refined approach where the client’s problem is treated unique and
given recommendations and solutions with well researched approach backed with data from
industry experts.
 2. How effective was Ron Daniel in leading McKinsey to respond to challenges identified in
the Commission on Firm Aims and Goals? What contribution did Fred Gluck make to the
required changes?

Answer:

• Daniel appoints one of firm’s partners to be the full-time director of training.

• Improve consultants’ skills and expertise.
• Created industry-based clientele sectors in different functions and cut some geographic
offices that remained the primary organizational entity and encouraged more formal
development of the firm’s functional expertise.
• Leverage the firm’s functional expertise, especially for strategy and organization sectors.

Fred Gluck’s contribution to make the required changes are:

1. Centres of competence: He created 15 centres of competence which can help consultants
an to ensure the renewal of the intellectual resources for the firm.
2. Knowledge Infrastructure: He took the task of Knowledge management project and made
3 recommendations:
a. building a common database of knowledge accumulated from client’s work and
development in the practice area.
b. Hire a full-time practice coordinator who count monitor the quality of the data
and help consultants access the relevant information.
c. To create a career path for deep functional specialists whose narrow expertise
would make them more I shaped than normal profile of a T shaped consultant.

3. Judging by the evidence in the three mini-cases of front -line activities in the mid-1990s,
how effective has the firm been in its two-decade-long change process?

Answer:

• High level knowledge related to different fields, and also experiences and capabilities
from worldwide, efficiency to solve different kinds of problems from different countries.
• Highly educated, fully knowledgeable and enough experienced employees participated to
using an effective way to persuade clients.
• A more independent network created and developed.
• Training new generation directors and new team workers, give them more opportunities
to practice in daily operation.

4. What is your evaluation of Rajat Gupta's "four-pronged" approach to knowledge

development and application within McKinsey? As a senior partner, what specific advice
would you give him?

Answer:

Rajat Gupta’s four prolonged approach to knowledge development and application within McKinsey
were:

1. Capitalize on firm’s long-term investment supported by knowledge infrastructure.

 2. Practice Olympics.
3. Tapped both internal and external expertise to develop “state of the art” formulations.
4. Create pools of dedicated resources protected from daily pressure and clients’ demands and
focussed on long-term research agendas.

Advice/recommendation to Rajat Gupta:

1. Regarding Mr. Gupta’s initiatives and MBO, it helps growth but made it impossible to link
the knowledge and expertise of the organisation.
2. To have more focus and not to overlook customer and market.
3. He should use traditional communication methods to motivate employees and develop
personal relationships.