The PricewaterhouseCoopers

KnowledgeCurve and The

Spinning-Off of PwC Consulting

INTRODUCTION
 PwC was formed in july 1998 following a merger of Price
Waterhouse(PW) and Coopers & Lybrand(C&L) creating the
world’s largest professional service organization, surpassing
Arthur Andersen, the industry’s giant in terms of asset size..

Firm was organized into six lines of service(LOS) which

included Audit, Assurance and business Advisory
Services(ABAS); Business Protocol Outsourcing(BPO); Financial
Advisory Services(FAS); Global Human Resources
Solution(GHRS); Management Consulting Services(MCS) and
Global Tax Services. The ABAS contributed the maximum gross
revenue and GHRS the least for the year 2000.

With more than 32000 employees operating in 52 countries

and territories on six continents, PwC Consulting’s expertise
lay in 7 core solution areas:

1.Strategic Change

2.Customer Relationship Management

3.Financial Management

4.Human Capital

5.Supply Chain & Operations

 6.Information Technology

7.Application Management & Business Process Outsourcing

Knowledge Curve : Award Winning Intranet

PwC developed the Knowledge Curve that connected its
global organisation of partners and employees thus facilitating
sharing of knowledge and expertise of the two companies and swift
action was taken to integrate the information systems that held the
knowledge base in various legacy systems.

 The implementation of intranet infrastructure was a key

element of Firm’s e-business strategy. It led to the foundation
for its knowledge-management strategies and initiatives.

Its multi-dimensional design supported knowledge sharing,

communications, continuous learning and virtual office
strategies.

It was designed so that each line of service had its own web
page and through it, the applications and content specific to
each LOS could be deployed.

The global homepage provided access to information on

global initiatives, firm-wide projects, know-how and expertise
in the areas of technology, business development and Firm
policies.

The primary content holders include Lotus notes database,

Oracle system and Dominized Notes Databases.
 Content management followed a comprehensive content
management policy and guidelines known as content
management workflow.

 It has a automatic reminder function that triggered certain

key staff to review certain content based on specific dates.

PWC deployed a verify full-text search engine that allowed

users to search across all of HTML and dominized notes.

PWC PORTAL
 PwC Consulting portal was to enhance connectivity build on
existing relationships with clients and staff.

 It was deployed considering cost-savings and improved user-

experience through shared infrastructure.

 It was not only limited to B2F online strategy but also

implements B2B and B2C initiatives.
BACK END(Data-Centre) Application & Authentication
Front End

Pwc Network
 INTER
NET

DVPN*

S.W.O.T ANALYSIS
• STRENGHTS:
 Sharing Of Knowledge : The knowledge curve connected
the global organizations of partners and employees thus
 facilitating the sharing of knowledge and the expertise of two
companies.

 E-Business Strategy : The implementation of the intranet

infrastructure was a key element of the firm’s e-business strategy
for the 21st century with the strategic priority of the firm to be
“the new knowledge enterprise”.

 Use anywhere : The system architecture enabled the

consultants to access the KC for information outside the office
and even on the road too.

 Lines Of Service : The firm was organized into six LOS where
each LOS has its own web page and there was also a global
homepage that spanned the whole firm.

 Automatic Reminder Function : The workflow incorporated

an automatic reminder function that triggered certain key staff to
review certain content based on specific dates.

 Verify Full-text Search Engine : PWC deployed a search

engine that allowed users to search across all of HTML and
Dominized notes. In order to make search more productive, a
taxonomy structure for storing content was also used.
Weakness :
 Duplicacy of Legacy Infrastructure : The technical
infrastructure of the KC had been built upon legacy systems
inherited from the two merged companies, Since then,
newer technologies and internet-based applications had
emerged and it seemed illogical to duplicate the legacy
infrastructure with the Spin-off.

 Unable To Cope Up With Latest Technologies

: Users were constantly pushing for newer functionalities
that would, for example, allow them to access and retrieve
information not only from PwC’s knowledge base, but also
from the wealth of external information service providers.

 Users Demand for Functionalities : Users

began to demand greater functionality, the capabilities and
limitations of the KC infrastructure were tested to their limit.
Another challenge was trying to keep up with the increasing
expectations of the users in terms of navigation and
functionality.

 Culture of Organization Ingrained : The culture

of the organization was very much ingrained in a code of
behaviour set by Lotus Notes.

 Closed System : KC was a closed system and the whole

issue regarding information security and access authorization to
facilitate client was not investigated.
Oppurtunity :
The limitations of Knowledge curve gave an opportunity for
development of a Portal for better work environment in the
organization.

 The intention of the portal project was to integrate

applications and the knowledge base to make them more
useful and personalized to the users.

 The existing HRM and financial applications could be

accessed through the portal as well as collaborative
applications that would allow work groups to operate in a
peer-to-peer collaborating environment.

 Choosing a common content architecture that enabled easy

location and use of the organisation’s knowledge content
was critical.

 PwC consulting recognized that the shelf life of knowledge

was shortening, and therefore the transfer of knowledge to
the content layer had to be embedded into the
organisation’s standard work processes.
THREATS :
 Limited Use System : The designed system was viewed
for urgent information needs only, not for general browsing
or exploration.

 Less Focus On Quality : The perceived lack of training

deflected the issue onto ‘where is it?’ Rather than the quality
of the content.

 The system was perceived as useful, but rigid and

sometimes frustrating. It was seen as easier/quicker to
ask someone else, go directly to a database or access the
web.

 The challenges regarding the technology and the

applications integration had to be resolved first and no
decision over replication Of Portal system.