I. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS, CASE INTRODUCTION AND KEY POINTS Introduction The case covers the introduction of Matt Barrett as CEO of Barclays and the changes he introduced to the organization to maintain its competitive position within the retail financial services industry. In an increasingly competitive environment, Barclays is losing ground due to its lack of data-driven actions and small global presence. The case outlines the actions taken by Barrett to transform some of the key characteristics of Barclays’ corporate structure, and concludes by presenting the challenge he will face in getting management buy-in in order to implement his vision. The key challenges that Barclays faces include: market consolidation, the emergence of the Euro and European Central Bank, increased reliance on IT and web-based platforms, and the rigidity of its own corporate structure.
II. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS Summarize the external environment, including conditions in the general, industry, and competitor environments. a. The General Environment Definition: The general environment is focused on the future and can be analyzed by considering the STEEP framework: Social/demographic, Technological, Economic, Environmental/geographic and Political/legal/governmental factors at play. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Social/Demographic Technological Economic Environmental/Geographic Political/Legal/Governmental
Discussion Question 1: Perform a STEEP analysis to understand the general environment facing Barclays. How will Barclays be affected by external factors? In particular, what will the effect of globalization be in terms of threats and opportunities? Social/Demographic Segment English is becoming increasingly the world-wide language of business offering Anglophone Barclays opportunities to expand into international markets with reduced language barriers.
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BARCLAYS: MATT BARRETT’S JOURNEY – WINNING HEARTS AND