The Scenario

A long-established bank is facing a strong competition from new entrants into the retail banking market. The new entrants specialize in the provision of telephone and internet banking services and have a lower cost because they do not carry the overheads associated with a large branch network.

A director of the branch network in the traditional bank has proposed a strategy for responding to this competition. It involves closing down 20 percent of the branch network in order to reduce overheads and increase net revenue per customer. At this stage, the details of the strategy have not been finalized. For example, the branches targeted for closure could be city center branches occupying expensive properties, or small rural branches occupying low-cost premises but with relatively few customers of high net worth to the bank.

Imagine you are a consultant who has been engaged by the director who initiated the proposal. Your role is to help her explore the feasibility of the proposal to increase profitability by contracting the branch network.

Step 1:

Brainstorm a list of possible actions that could provide the basis for a strategy for managing this change. Make sure that everything on your list is relevant to the task at hand. Consider all stakeholders. Think about how actions might be sequenced from start to finish. Use figure 2.2 on page 27 of your text to help you formulate this list. You are not required to turn in this component, it is solely for your planning purposes.

Step 2:

Write an executive summary of your plan that you would use to present your plan to the bank’s Board of Directors.

Create a flowchart, chart, diagram or other pictorial representation of your strategy, ensuring that you represent steps in order. You will also need to somehow identify actions that will occur in parallel or occur multiple times. Make sure that you use descriptive labels for the main aspects or stages of your plan. For items on your list that are not self-explanatory, or that you are placing in a more unconventional spot within the overall process, include a note to help the Board understand why.

Price: $14.91

Solution: The downloadable solution consists of 6 pages, 891 words and 1 charts.
Deliverable: Word Document