This paper examines the market potential for WFD Consulting, Inc., a human resources consulting firm with nearly three decades of experience serving multinational corporations. Drawing on economic growth data and labor market projections, the paper reviews how WFD's past success was closely tied to broader global business expansion, particularly during the prosperous years of the 1990s through 2006. It then considers how the recent recession and reduced capital availability have constrained future market potential, and discusses strategic implications for the firm as it navigates an environment of slower growth, economic uncertainty, and rapidly evolving workplace conditions.
WFD Consulting, Inc. has been providing human resources strategies and resources to many well-established multinational concerns for almost three decades (WFD, 2012). The support and services offered by WFD promote the research-backed belief that employee wellness, happiness, and fulfillment have a direct effect on productivity and success, and that developing and implementing proper techniques for handling employee workplace and personal issues is an essential part of running a profitable and efficient business (WFD, 2012). Though the consulting business has been successful in the past, there is no guarantee that it will continue with the same level of success in the future, due to changes in market size and potential. The following pages examine the market potential for the firm in light of its past performance and current trends in the operating environment that could affect strategy and potential in the coming years.
Some of the largest and most respected business organizations in the world have utilized the services of WFD Consulting, Inc., including IBM, a company that was instrumental in the founding and continued development of WFD (WFD, 2012). Founded in 1983 and incorporated in 1988, the company has enjoyed several decades of economic growth that provided substantial opportunities for the consulting company due to rising demand (Audretsch & Welfens, 2002; WFD, 2012). Increases in global business and the growth of multinational firms over this period led to a high degree of market expansion, fueling the organization's individual growth.
This does not mean that the company has been successful solely because of overall market expansion. The innovations in the company's service offerings and its ongoing research and development in the areas of workplace and family satisfaction continue to provide opportunities for growth (WFD, 2012). At the same time, the increase in sheer market size and the capacity of large international companies has been a significant boon to WFD Consulting, Inc. An examination of past performance must necessarily take into account the rapid growth in technology and business that provided organizations the resources to engage WFD's services (Audretsch & Welfens, 2002). As a consultancy firm, WFD performs well when business in general does well, and its services may be underutilized during periods when organizations have less capital to expend.
"Recession's impact on future consulting demand"
Markets are shifting for most organizations at the current time, and will continue to do so during this period of economic change and uncertainty. Technological advances are also fundamentally changing the nature of work in ways that WFD must stay ahead of in order to remain relevant and necessary. Overall market potential will likely become smaller and more fragmented in the immediate future; however, proper strategic positioning should allow the company to remain successful.
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