Strategic Planning Written Assignment

Environmental research

Background Information

WSP global Inc. is a company that was established in 1959. It provides expert consultation services using engineers and other professionals who provide services such as designing, engineering consulting, environmental consulting, and professional services to deliver successful and sustainable projects. The company has its presence in different parts of the world including Canada where it's headquartered United States, Europe, India, Africa, and Latin America (WSP Global, n.d). WSP has massively invested in technology and innovation in order to effectively compete in its market and Industry. The company has worked in establishing that are meant to enhance sustainability and create a prosperous and resilient Society. The program involves four areas such as dealing with issues of climate, society, technology, and resources. WSP has provided smart designs to different projects and provides consultancy for project management. However the major focus of the company is to increase its global presence and this is the reason over the years it has worked to enhance competitive working environment for the employees and efficient performance in every project. In 2020 WSP had 49,000 employees globally (WSP Global, n.d). One of the greatest competitiveness for the company is that it is a leader in engineering professional services and therefore it creates a competitive advantage against the existing competitors. WSP has lived to achieve its mission statement which focuses on problem-solving, evolution, improvement, and modernization of different projects by providing solutions that help to shape the community and society towards sustainable thriving. As such, WSP competitiveness and growth performance in the industry and hence its position in the industry and determines its success in different parts of the world.

Issues and Challenges

WSP faces various challenges in its operations. One of the challenges is the problem of handling several projects at the same time creating competition for time and competent human resources. Some of the projects that the company has worked on includes the National Museum of African American History, Culture Elizabeth River Tunnels, Texas Bullet Train and other projects touching on transportation, infrastructure property, buildings, water and environment. With the increasing number of projects, WSP faces challenges in supply chain sustainability. The supplier maturity varies greatly in the industry and this makes it difficult for the company to scale up the expectations of all the suppliers and the entire organization. The second challenge is the problem with enhancing equity and justice in the supply chain (Alter, 2019). One challenge the company faces is the issue of rewarding the largest suppliers higher compared to the smaller and diverse suppliers who are at a disadvantage. However it is important to effectively handle their suppliers to ensure all the projects are sustained with efficient supplies.

WSP faces a problem with a balance in employee work-life balance. The problem with the company is that employees are unable to work on flexible schedules. The lack of flexible schedules results to complicated lives for the employees and affects their working morale. In some cases the employees are required to work on a fixed schedule which they are not able to match. The lack of flexibility in scheduling this results to higher stress levels for the employees and affects their ability to deliver the best work for the company (Garg et al., 2019). The lack of motivation across the workforce affects the innovation and creativity abilities of the employees. The cause of lack of motivation is communication problems between the management and the employees. Without communication the employees are unable to determine what is expected of them or how to handle the problems that they experience.

Business Analysis

Comparison of Client’s Services with Competitors

Utility to Client

WSP has effectively worked in the industry for many years. It is been able to create effective utility to clients by establishing partnerships and trusted relationships. The company works effectively with different stakeholders to deliver projects that are efficient to meet the needs of the client. As the market strength continue to change and shape the world the company has continued to enhance its advisory and digital capabilities in order to enhance their abilities to deal with the client's needs. Through such approaches WSP has been able to achieve industry-leading position and an engagement experience with it customers (WSP Sectors, n.d). Utility to the clients has resulted to an increase in satisfaction ratings in every year and an alignment with the regional frameworks in order to deliver efficient projects which meet the needs of the customers and the society. AECOM on the other hand applies the principles of its core values in enhancing utility to the client's. The company collaborates with the clients in order to bring out expertise and create innovative solutions to their problems at the same time operate in an ethical environment which is characterized with integrity and safety priority for all the clients (Lombard, 2020). WSP and AECOM have efficiently enhanced customer utility in the Industries.

Price

WSP and AECOM are great players in the industry and they take on the most complex challenges to bring innovative solutions to the problems the clients are facing. WSP is a leader in the industry and enjoys competitive advantages compared to the other companies. Therefore, the company is able to price its services as a higher rate compared to the other competitors. At the same time the pricing is determined by the quality of services that WSP offers whereby it has qualified and experienced designers and Engineers resorting to effective customer satisfaction and increased pricing for the services provided. On the other hand AECOM has experienced a growth in its market with major operations in different countries of the world such as India, Australia, and United States (Coates, 2020). As a result it has also enhanced its pricing because it offers efficient services for the customers.

Quality

WSP value the quality of the services offered to the customers. As a result a quality assurance department ensures that the quality management practices are applied in every Project. WSP has distinguished its track record in quality control services by providing impressive sort of technical expertise and supporting clients all over the world. At the same time AECOM implements different practices and management systems whereby they bring the best practices into execution in the world complex projects (Grant et al., 2019). Through high levels of quality assurance and adherence to the industry regulations and compliance, the company has been able to enhance its position and performance in the industry.

Service

WSP offers different services to clients in the world. The main commitment is to ensure that the client experience access to the latest technologies quality services and cost-effectiveness. The company offers services in different areas which is civil and cultural sector, commercial and mixed-use environment, education, healthcare, hospitality, bridge design, and residential services (Bricicaru & Beleiu, 2022). On the other hand AECOM offers services in construction management environmental services, mobility, and risk management and resilience.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Strong Global Presence with Over a Century of Heritage. WSP has been in existence for over 130 years. The company has established a strong global presence operating in major countries including in Europe, United States, and Africa. The company is more competitive in the industry and has an established organisational culture that helps it to perform better in the industry.

Increased Range of Services. WSP offers a wide range of services to different customers in the world. These services range from the construction industry, transportation industry, property and buildings, power and energy, as well as earth and environment (Colosi et al., 2021). The increase in the services provided the company's competitiveness in the industry and the number of clients it can serve.

Strategic Acquisitions. WSP has worked to enhance its global presence and increase its competitiveness in the industry. It does so through strategic acquisitions which provides it with long-term growth of the goals and objectives.

Technological Innovations and Advancements. WSP ventures in use of innovative technologies to enhance the services delivered to the customer's. The use of innovative technologies as enhance the quality of services delivered in different sectors.

Weaknesses

Over-Reliance on Third-Party Suppliers. WSP has faced challenges with its supply chain because of its over-reliance on third-party suppliers. This increases the rate at which the supply is default to supply the necessary supplies in time and this affects the time at which every project is completed. At the same time lack of strong ties with the suppliers increases the suppliers bargaining power and this affects the prices at which the company has different sources for different materials.

Allegations of Violation of Anti-Terrorism Act. The allegations of one WSP’s subsidiary on violations of Anti-Terrorism Act raised lawsuits which affects the company's reputation (Counsel for Plaintiffs, 2019). At the same time these lawsuits affect the company financial standing due to the fines that the company has to pay for the violations.

Opportunities

Acquisitions to Enhance Performance. WSP operate in different sectors. There for it he has an opportunity of enhancing its performance through acquisition of different companies working in different sectors. For example the acquisition of Golder Associates provides the company with an opportunity to enhance performance in its infrastructure and environmental sector.

Increased Global Presence. WSP has an opportunity of continued and improve performance through global expansion. At the same time the company can increase its performance through better and enhance to research and development on technologies and innovation.

Threats

Fixed Price Contracts Increase Risks to the Company. The fixed-price contracts and the cost-plus contracts increases the risks to the company because of the fluctuations in the cost of supplies which increases the risk for losses.

Weather Fluctuations and Natural Disasters. The operations of the company are affected by weather fluctuations and natural disasters which negatively influence the working of different projects. At the same time natural disasters affect the continuity of the project as they resort to the destruction of such projects and resorts to losses on the part of the company.

External Factor Evaluation Matrix

Key External Factors	Weight	Rating	Weighted Score
Opportunities
1. The increase in climate change increases the demand for innovation and technology in handling environmental projects	0.04	4	0.16
2. Partnerships with other companies are required in enhancing adoption of sustainable projects.	0.07	2	0.14
3. The growth of new markets in different parts of the industry enhances the ability of the company to enhance its performance.	0.08	4	0.32
4. The changing policies in different sectors show that the company should prepare for changes in the governance priorities since many governments are focusing on climate change.	0.07	2	0.14
5. WSP has benefited from the taxation policies where it has enjoyed the lower tax rates in the some of the nations. This has resulted to an increase in the company profits and spending in aspects of technology research and development.	0.05	2	0.10
6. The changes in societal norms and hierarchy has increased the societal attitude towards the environmental friendly projects.	0.03	3	0.09
7. The increase in the demand for access to essential services over the last decade has resulted to wider demand for essential services provided by WSP. The governments have increased the investments in public services and this is an opportunity for revenue growth for WSP.	0.08	3	0.24
8. WSP can optimize the digital asset data in the transport and infrastructure sector to enhance the performance of the company in the industries and to improve revenue performance	0.06	2	0.12
9. Technological advancements can be used to avoid bridge failures by effective transmission of data on structural integrity.	0.02	2	0.04
Threats
1. The changes in environmental norms are altering the priorities on the service innovation. The services need to be designed in line with the environmental standards and the company has to keep up with the changes in environmental standards.	0.02	2	0.04
2. The downward pressure on tight budget due to inflation rates has reduced the profit margian and hence negatively affecting the revenue.	0.08	2	0.16
3. The increased liquidity rate in the market has resulted to a rise of inflation in the world economy and thus negatively affects the clients' spending on major projects.	0.08	3	0.24
4. The growing regulatory standards for some areas increases the need for adherence to strict policy compliance, such as waste management especially in the urban areas.	0.03	3	0.09
5. The US-China trade wars have negatively impacted the company performance due to supply-chain disruptions.	0.07	2	0.14
6. The fluctuations in the foreign exchange and the currency impacts WSP’s net earnings and overall performance.	0.05	2	0.10
7. The recruitment of skilled and qualified engineers and scientists to deliver efficient projects is becoming an increasing challenge in the company.	0.1	3	0.30
8. The company is subject to complex public and procurement laws and regulations which makes the procurement process more complex and difficult.	0.06	2	0.12
9. The rising privacy and cybersecurity risks increases the risk of successful cyber threats. The data privacy and cybersecurity laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation must be adhered to.	0.01	2	0.02
Total	1		2.56

References

Alter, S. (2019). Applying Socio-technical Thinking in the Competitive, Agile, Lean, Data-Driven World of Knowledge Work and Smart, Service-Oriented, Customer-Centric Value Creation Ecosystems.  Complex Systems Informatics and Modeling Quarterly, (18), 1-22. Applying Socio-technical Thinking in the Competitive, Agile, Lean, Data-Driven World of Knowledge Work and Smart, Service-Oriented, Customer-Centric Value Creation Ecosystems | Alter | Complex Systems Informatics and Modeling Quarterly (rtu.lv)

Bricicaru, C., & Beleiu, I. N. (2022). Cost-Benefit Analysis of Road Infrastructure Projects.  Revista de Management Comparat International,  23(1), 150-162. 2022_Cost_Benefit_Analysis_of_Road_Infrastructure_Projects-with-cover-page-v2.pdf (d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net)

Coates, A. (2020). Open Access Rail Competition in the UK–Applying New Procedures With Grand Union Trains. In  European Transport Conference 2020. Open Access Rail Competition in the UK – Applying New Procedures With Grand Union Trains (trb.org)

Colosi, L. V., Villas Bôas, A. B., & Gille, S. T. (2021). The seasonal cycle of significant wave height in the ocean: Local versus remote forcing.  Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans,  126(8), e2021JC017198. The Seasonal Cycle of Significant Wave Height in the Ocean: Local Versus Remote Forcing - Colosi - 2021 - Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans - Wiley Online Library

Counsel for Plaintiffs. (2019, December 27). Complaint for Violation of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Courthouse News Service. https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Anti-terrorism-lawsuit.pdf

Garg, N., Punia, B. K., & Jain, A. (2019). Workplace spirituality and job satisfaction: exploring mediating effect of organization citizenship behaviour.  Vision,  23(3), 287-296. Workplace Spirituality and Job Satisfaction: Exploring Mediating Effect of Organization Citizenship Behaviour - Naval Garg, B. K. Punia, Anuradha Jain, 2019 (sagepub.com)

Grant, Z., Washan, P., & Ross, D. (2019). Options for incorporating embodied and sequestered carbon into the building standards framework (AECOM). Options for incorporating embodied and sequestered carbon into the building standards framework (AECOM) (llas.ac.cn)

Lombard, L. (2020). AECOM offers municipalities a complete service for landfill management.  Civil Engineering= Siviele Ingenieurswese,  28(7), 54-55. AECOM offers municipalities a complete service for landfill management | Civil Engineering = Siviele Ingenieurswese (journals.co.za)

WSP Global. (n.d.). We are WSP - Engineers, Designers, Planners, Researchers | WSP

WSP Sectors. (n.d.). https://www.wsp.com/en-gl/hubs/industry