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task 1,2 and 3 in (1249) are based on blockbuster..and 1510 is different
example: Assessment Task 1: Business analysis review and report
Conduct an analysis of business strategy, framework, and performance, as well as an analysis of industry/market conditions, using appropriate templates/tables and compile a report of approximately 1200 words
Business Competition and Technology Industry Sample Answer
Abstract
Initially known as Research in Motion, BlackBerry Limited surprised the technology industry with its innovative and advanced technology. The BlackBerry wireless email solution became very popular to people, especially to business people. The company was an enormous giant in innovating devices that are businessmen-friendly. However, with the birth of iPhones and Androids, BlackBerry Limited slowly exited the industry and silently sit on the sidelines. What used to be on top, now seemed to be slowing down in the world of technological competence. Business competition in today’s corporate world is very high. Big and small business firms should continue to modify and improve their products to compete with the innovative products launched differently by several corporations. Thus, BlackBerry might want to opt to change its strategy. The risk may be high, but the results outweigh the efforts.
Keywords: Blackberry, business competition, the technology industry
Looking into a Technological Giant: A Business Analysis Review and Report of Blackberry
Introduction
Blackberry Limited initially started as Research in Motion (RIM). It is a Canadian telecommunications and wireless equipment company founded by Mike Lazaridis. Lazaridis is an engineering student from the University of Waterloo, who founded the company in 1984. He was just twenty-three years old at that time when he created RIM. Another engineering student from the University of Windsor, Douglas Fregin, co-founded the company. RIM has its roots as an electronic and computer science consulting company. In 1988 the company became the first wireless data developer in America. It was also the first ever company, outside Scandinavia, to evolve connectivity products for Mobitex wireless packet-switched data communications network.
RIM became famous for introducing innovative technologies such as the DigiSync™, Film Keykode™ Reader, the first Mobitex protocol converter, and the BlackBerry wireless email solution. The BlackBerry wireless email solution became very popular to people, especially to business people. The device allows workers to send and receive e-mails while away from the office. As what authors describe it, BlackBerry became the indispensable accessory of business executives, heads of states, and Hollywood celebrities (Gillette, Brady, & Winter, 2013). However, BlackBerry’s fame wavered when iPhone and Android came to the picture. The global economic condition affects all kinds of businesses (McQuerrey, 2016).
The upsurge in the economy proffers new business prospects for small operations. On the other hand, a declining economy can have a lasting impact on the firm. In a robust and better economy, businesses prosper, people have a high income, and low unemployment; on the other hand, a sluggish economy poses many challenges to investors. Shareholders may suffer from profit losses which will urge the company to cut their workforce. Furthermore, the high competition in the business world is prevalent. Companies gain an advantage against the world’s biggest competitor because of pressure. It pushes companies to improve their products and be continually competitive. It is in this light that the analysis of Blackberry was created.
Blackberry Company Analysis
The BlackBerry Limited (BlackBerry) is a supplier of mobile communications devices. The company is engaged in providing BlackBerry wireless solution that includes smartphones, software, and services. The core areas of the company are on Enterprise Services, Messaging, Devices business and BlackBerry Technology Solutions (“Company Profile”, 2016). BlackBerry Limited is considered a global leader in mobile communication. The company continues to inspire its customers by producing innovative products which the market will surely patronize. The company operates across continents such as North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America. There are 20 executives and directors of Blackberry under the leadership of John Chen, Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. (“About BlackBerry”, n.d.).
Due to high competition and economic recession, the company incurred a negative growth in sales. Thus, it experienced a loss of its profits. In the year 2013, the company laid off thousands of its employees and sold the company to about US $4.7 billion (“BlackBerry timeline: A look back at the tech company’s history”, 2013). The company which is considered a technology giant, slowly shrink its stakes in the global smartphone market share by 3 percent. In the last few years, the company continues to have a negative growth (Sturgeon, 2013).
Engineers and technicians are brainstorming about new technologies to incorporate into blackberry phones. With its new Blackberry 10 (BB 10) launched in 2013, the company is positive to increase its sales. The new product has an innovative design, and its system has multimedia, applications, and touchscreen features. This product is said to be a crucial determinant to the long-term sustainability of the company (Radio-Canada, 2013). BlackBerry 10 sees the implementation of a whole new user interface, doing away with the conventional BB system that people are used to in favor of something that resembles the likes of Androids and iOS (McCann, 2013).
Industry Analysis
In doing an industry analysis of BlackBerry Limited, it is essential to look into the company’s political environment, economic advantage, social relations, technological advancement, legal policy6, and environmental (PESTLE) contexts. PESTLE enables one to assess the risks that they are facing, and seeing what impacts do current factors have (PESTLE Analysis: Strategy Skills, 2013). Moreover, PESTLE is used to examine the many factors in the macro-environment that may affect the decision of the managers in organizations (PESTEL Analysis of the Macro-environment, 2011).
The nature of Blackberry business is risky because of the rapidly changing technology. Now and then there are new innovative product lines that are readily available in the market. Competition is very high among its industries. Among its competitors who are also familiar with the market include LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, Apple Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Google, Lenovo Group Ltd., Huawei Technologies Co., HTC Corporation, ZTE Corporation, and Nokia. Other competitors are Xiaomi Inc., IBM, SAP AG, Citrix, VMware, Inc., Mobile Iron, Inc., Good Technology Corporation, Green Hills Software, Intel Corporation, Mentor Graphics Corporation, and Sysgo AG. Some internet media are also in the competition such as Facebook, WeChat, Viber, Kik, Kakao Talk, Telegram, Snapchat, Cumulocity, Exosite, IBM, and MontaVista Software.
With the presence of its equally technologically advanced competitors, standing in the communication technology industry is a challenge to BlackBerry Limited. The company should create one of a kind innovative product which is more advanced compared to others. Its marketing strategies should also be strengthened.
Looking at the situation of BlackBerry Limited in the competitive world of technology, it can be said that the company has a failing technological strategy. Apple and Android have already taken BlackBerry from the limelight. The two companies are now ruling the gadget world. This condition is primary because of the rapid pace of technology; BlackBerry Limited was not able to hop on the train of innovation faster than the other companies. The company never saw it coming that what was once impossible may be a common trend at some time. Below is a table of the growth rate of BlackBerry Limited in comparison to industry and sector.
| Company | Industry | Sector | ||
| Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago | -29.70 | 6.37 | 13.66 | |
| Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago | -35.23 | 3.74 | 12.06 | |
| Sales – 5 Yr. Growth Rate | -35.87 | 15.04 | 11.18 | |
| EPS (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago | -956.68 | 45.89 | 32.42 | |
| EPS (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago | 23.87 | — | — | |
| EPS – 5 Yr. Growth Rate | — | 39.16 | 14.52 | |
| Capital Spending – 5 Yr. Growth Rate | -42.31 | -2.30 | 9.91 |
Table 1. Blackberry growth rate in comparison to industry and sector
It is shown in the table above that the company recorded a negative growth rate in sales by 35.87 percent during the last five years. These results mean that the firm is losing profits. Regarding growth rate, in capital spending, the company also incurred a negative growth of 42.31 percent. The situation is alarming. If the condition continues, the company will have to lay off more employees in the future.
SWOT, Gap, and Cost-Benefit Analysis:
A SWOT analysis is a device that aids business personnel to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved in any business enterprises (Ommani, 2011). Moreover, SWOT can help us gain insights into the past and think of possible solutions to existing or potential problems for an existing business or for an existing venture (USDA as cited in Ommani, 2011). To better understand the situation of BlackBerry Ltd, it is also necessary to look into its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, coupled with the gap and cost-benefit analysis.
SWOT Analysis
| Strength
· Adequate assets and equipment · Skilled and enough human resource · Excellent marketing strategies |
Weaknesses
· Financial Capability · Employee Turnover
|
| Opportunities
· Billions of customers · Development of new and high-tech communication products that could compete globally |
Threats
· High competition |
Table 2. SWOT Analysis
As we can see in the diagram, BlackBerry is on the edge when it comes to its resources such as the equipment, assets, and human resource. Moreover, the company has an excellent marketing strategy. Just last year 2010, the company hired a new CEO, who is a Hong Kong -born British-American business person and an electrical engineer. This new CEO is none other than John Chen, known for his many achievements and for turning around failing companies. The said CEO pushes hardware profitability as the next big thing in BlackBerry Ltd and as an answer to the threats that the firm is facing. Furthermore, the company sees an opportunity in developing new and high-tech communication products that could compete globally with other international corporations.
High competition is seen as one of the threats to the company, but despite this, BlackBerry Limited sees opportunities in the near future. As what the CEO of the business stated (in an interview) last June 2015, the company’s smartphone unit will turn profitable in the short term (Rathinavel, 2015). BlackBerry Limited has many customers even before the advent of iPhones and Android, thus innovating will only make the company attract even more billions of customers.
Gap analysis
Based on all the data gathered, it is feasible to say that BlackBerry Limited is indeed a company who had reached its peak at some point in time. The SWOT analysis in the above shows the strengths that the company can muster in the competition field. However, despite the good record of BlackBerry Limited, we cannot deny the gaps in the strategies of the enterprise. One thing is the failure of the company to innovate in time with the fast-paced development of its competing companies. With the advent of iPhone and Android, BlackBerry has lost its fame in the technology market. The problem here may not be the marketing strategy of the company but in the workers.
As a solution to this, the company should hire more reliable and credible workers so as to step back again to the world of technological competition. Moreover, it will be of advantage to the company itself and its employees if they will initiate training. Differentiation by skill, knowledge, and motivation of the workforce, takes on increasing importance as organizations strive to compete in the worldwide economy (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009). Hill and Lent (as cited in Aguinis and Kraiger, 2009) mentioned that training-related changes are believed to improve job-related performance and other positive changes such as the acquisition of new skills.
In addition to this, BlackBerry Limited might also want to consider outsourcing employees or engineers that will help improve the declining status of the company. Outsourcing is said to be a common practice in both private and public organizations (Kremic, Tukel, & Rom, 2006). Kremic, Tukel, and Rom also revealed that most organizations nowadays are perhaps already using outsourcing as a function to perform efficiently. The benefit of outsourcing to the company is the additional knowledge that outsourced employees can offer. Moreover, outsourcing enables the company to learn new insights, improve strategy, and look at things from a different perspective.
Another solution to the challenges that BlackBerry Limited is facing is to initiate partnerships with other big companies. With the work connections that their present CEO has, doing this strategy is plausible. Partnering and making ties with businesses, both local and abroad, will enable BlackBerry Limited to expand its scope of activities, consumers, and resources. Such ties can also be a leeway for BlackBerry Limited to improve their innovative efforts and technological advancement.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
|
Solutions/Initiatives |
Key Steps to Implement |
Cost Benefit (est. cost, expected benefit, time to realize) |
Impact (which part of business) |
|
| 1. | Trainings | Initiating training for all employees | US$ 3,000
Improve the knowledge, skills, and abilities of employees, improvement of innovative efforts and technological advancement 1 -2 weeks, twice to thrice a year |
Human Resource, Employee production |
| 2. | Recruitment | Recruiting credible and trained employees | US$ 3,000
Increased productivity, efficient and innovative workers. 2-3 months |
Labor force, operations |
| 3. | Outsourcing | Hiring employees from outside the organization | US$ 10,000
More insights and innovative ideas, more skilled, additional workforce |
Strategic planning |
| 4. | Partnership with other Companies | Making ties with businesses, both local and abroad | US$ 100,000
Business, consumer, and resource expansion, improvement of innovative efforts and technological advancement |
Strategic planning, operations |
Table 3. Cost-Benefit Analysis
The table above shows the cost benefit analysis of the measures above in addressing the present condition of BlackBerry Limited. Note that training, recruitment, outsourcing, and partnership with other companies are real solutions for the current situation that BlackBerry Limited is encountering. The whole plan will take a more than a hundred thousand US dollars to implement. We can also note that despite the significant sum that improving BlackBerry Limited entails, the benefits still outweigh the costs.
Industry feedback
At the height of Blackberry popularity, there are about 80 million users which include high ramming government officials and celebrities. There have been significant changes and improvements that the company is implementing over the past years. Its sustainability in the industry could be attributed to the continued patronage of its loyal customers. BlackBerry could face its downturn, and the company is not yet out of the market.
Conclusion
BlackBerry is a technology innovative company which is undergoing a rough road since the emergence of iPhones and Android. Its current situation is not healthy based on statistics. If it continues to happen, the company will experience great losses that could lead to layoff in its workforce. The situation is not good for the sector and the industry itself because BlackBerry is a giant company. The company might need to re-engineer their processes and operations and conduct a thorough analysis of its current condition so it could withstand the challenges in the technological industry.
Business Competition and Technology Industry References
About BlackBerry. Ca.blackberry.com. Retrieved 4 June 2016, from
http://ca.blackberry.com/company.html
Aguinis, H., & Kraiger, K. (2009). Benefits of Training and Development for Individuals and Teams, Organizations and Society. Annual Review of Psychology.
BlackBerry timeline: A look back at the company history. (2013). Global News. Retrieved
4 June 2016, from http://globalnews.ca/news/860689/blackberry-timeline-a-look-back-at-the-tech-companys-history/
BlackBerry 10 aims to catch up the competition. (2013). Cbc.ca. Retrieved 4 June 2016, from
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/blackberry-10-aims-to-catch-up-with-competition-1.1371481
Company Profile. (2016). Reuters. Retrieved 4 June 2016, from
http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=BB.TO
Gillette, F., Brady, D., & Winter, C. (2013). Retrieved from Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-12-05/the-rise-and-fall-of-blackberry-an-oral-history
History.Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 4 June 2016, from
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-12-05/the-rise-&-fall-of-blackberry-an-oral-history
Kremic, T., Tukel, O., & Rom, W. (2006). ‘Outsourcing decision support: a survey of the benefits, risks, and decision factors.’ Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 11(6), 467-482.
McCann, J. (2013). Retrieved from Techradar: http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/software/operating-systems/blackberry-10-1090522/review
McQuerrey, L. (2016). The Economy’s Effect on Small Businesses. Retrieved from Small Business: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/economys-effects-small-businesses-10269.html
Ommani, A. (2011). Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis for farming) system businesses management: Case of wheat farmers of Shadervan District, Shoushtar Towship Iran. African Journal of Business Management, 5(22), 9448-9454.
PESTEL Analysis of the Macro-environment. (2011). In Foundations of Economics. Oxford University Press.
PESTLE Analysis: Strategy Skills. (2013). Retrieved from www.free-management-ebooks.com
Radio-Canada. (2013, January 29). BlackBerry 10 aims to catch up with the competition. Retrieved June 6, 2016, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/blackberry-10-aims-to-catch-up-with-competition-1.1371481
Rathinavel, P. (2015). BlackBerry CEO John Chen Says Hardware Unit will Make Money Again. International Business Times. Retrieved from International Business Times.
Sturgeon, J. (2013). ‘BlackBerry cuts a third of workforce; faces a billion-dollar loss.’ Global
News. Retrieved 4 June 2016, from http://globalnews.ca/news/854194/blackberry-to-cut-4500-jobs-expects-major-q2-loss/
