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TASK
The first assignment of this module is an Essay (to be written and submitted individually) on a
strategy failure of a real company. Based on a FT (FT.com) news article, select a company that is
facing a failure/decline and analyse possible reasons of its strategic mistakes. The task requires
demonstrating the following:
• providing an overview of a company strategy
• explaining what is meant by failure/decline
• analysing the possible reasons of failure/decline
• suggesting how this could be avoided.
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Blackberry Limited : Understanding the Reasons of the Strategy Failure
Essay
Introduction
On the 28th September 2016, an article in the FT published that Blackberry Limited
(Blackberry), a Canadian multinational company, had stopped manufacturing its own phone,
which implied ‘How the BlackBerry phone era came to an end’ (Fildes, 2016). The article
revealed how Blackberry has crushed and has ignored its competitors. This news wasn't
shocking to some because in 2013 the company already announced in the media that it started
failing (Gustin, 2013).
In this essay, I have been asked to research and gather evidence about a failing business
strategy. In this case, I have chosen to investigate Blackberry as they have shown examples of
innovation and enterprise throughout their venture.
Providing an overview of Blackberry’s Strategy
Blackberry is a global corporation headquartered in Canada that plays a key role in software
and worldwide use of the Internet. Blackberry was known as Research In Motion, which
established a smartphone and tablet brand called BlackBerry. This corporation was founded in
1984, but due to the strategy of ‘Falling market share, Product delays and Angry investors’, it
failed (Castaldo, 2012). A new chief executive and CEO, John S.Chen, took over in November
2013 and made major investments in the company. His big proposal was to assign production to
Foxconn and to concentrate on software technology. John has driven BlackBerry from a
'hardware icon' to a software leader with a successful transformation. Along with its corporation
in cybersecurity and integrated software development. John had set plans for the industry
planning to optimize its brand power and legacy in mobile security to stimulate into the
enterprising, a growing share with billions of connected devices and market opportunities, for
instance, TCL Communications.
In 1984 to 2007, Blackberry was highly competitive in introducing groundbreaking products and
services; we can see a simple trend in the Blackberry adaptive cycle. A glance, BlackBerry was
the Apple of today. However, a remarkable transition arose, with demand quickly decreasing in
Blackberry, and in 2016, BlackBerry stopped making its own phones. Blackberry was in turmoil,
due to its reliance on an already-determined approach focused on software that was built
around the design of a fantastic platform that only succeeded and iterated slowly. To that end,
they would add little features over time, but they weren't shooting for major, dramatic changes
that would disturb and thrill customers. However, Blackberry wanted to set up a viable plan to
solve near-long-term problems before affecting any of the users. Not just whether we see a new
BlackBerry in the near future, the phones will always be the 'brick foundation' of smartphone
technology (Appolonia ,2019).
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Mobile security along with cybersecurity with software growth was one of its main strategic
objectives, according to the Blackberry business article (Moser, 2020). The company's goods,
often more of a company producer than a client, have developed a reputation for their
cybersecurity. In 2019, the company purchased an A.I.-based cybersecurity business, known to
be Cylance, for $1.4 billion; it intends a rapidly distributed global workforce of even more
insecure connected devices to create demand for its product. The company is yet substantial,
but the BlackBerry brand has shrunk into obscurity: its profits were $259 million, up 6% from last
year with a loss of only $23 million. The company is tougher to say as it is essentially the
intellectual property, by software harvested through Blackberry's tech, which provided a play by
Cylance to be part of cybersecurity. Not quite the supplies of the iPhone, but business tech isn't
a poor place to be (Moser, 2020).
This indicates that Blackberry's mission reflected the great advances in technology through
software, as well as, security and made the company look visionary and superior. Yet,
Blackberry did have issues of failure in producing a smartphone with an upgraded software
system, but upgrading the appearance of the smartphone, that was produced and marketed
later, which is poor marketing. Yet having situations of predicting future trends, inadequate
positioning in a competitive market, which is often known as major strategic vulnerabilities, this
could not be reasons for the collapse of Blackberry from the point of view of the action strategy
of the company.
Additionally, the journalist analysis reveals that Blackberry, the CEO Chen was focused on the
smartphones' appearance, rather than the technology itself, which caused the company to be
behind today's trends of technology, causing furious investors. Chen did come across
culmination of the software before, which eventually he stepped down due to losing money and
in crisis after having to restate its results as he took the helm in 1998. Chen himself stated in an
interview: "There is a lot to do, are a lot of challenges or otherwise I would not be interested”.
Similarly, to Blackberry, Chen faced a similar situation, yet he did manage to improve on the
Software for Cybersecurity (Finkle and Rocha, 2013).
Blackberry’s Strategy Failure
Blackberry was the first wireless tech that developed a handheld device ideal for emailing,
which transformed it into a major player in the electronics market. Thumb-wheels for scrolling
were added, the screens got bigger, and soon a phone was added to the device, initially one
that could be used with an external headset (Fildes, 2016).
Overtime, Blackberry struck from within 3 million subscribers unsubscribing. This is because of
their leadership. The role of leadership in every organisation affects the distribution of attention
by members and active leaders to it to achieve the goals of the business. The importance of
BlackBerry's leadership has shown a fragile performance with the introduction of the iPhone and
other competitors (Tobak, 2012). In this case, chaos is the result of a poor leadership strategy
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TASK
The first assignment of this module is an Essay (to be written and submitted individually) on a
strategy failure of a real company. Based on a FT (FT.com) news article, select a company that is
facing a failure/decline and analyse possible reasons of its strategic mistakes. The task requires
demonstrating the following:
• providing an overview of a company strategy
• explaining what is meant by failure/decline
• analysing the possible reasons of failure/decline
• suggesting how this could be avoided.
Downloaded by: tskl |
Distribution of this document is illegal
, Stuvia.co.uk - The Marketplace for Revision Notes & Study Guides
Blackberry Limited : Understanding the Reasons of the Strategy Failure
Essay
Introduction
On the 28th September 2016, an article in the FT published that Blackberry Limited
(Blackberry), a Canadian multinational company, had stopped manufacturing its own phone,
which implied ‘How the BlackBerry phone era came to an end’ (Fildes, 2016). The article
revealed how Blackberry has crushed and has ignored its competitors. This news wasn't
shocking to some because in 2013 the company already announced in the media that it started
failing (Gustin, 2013).
In this essay, I have been asked to research and gather evidence about a failing business
strategy. In this case, I have chosen to investigate Blackberry as they have shown examples of
innovation and enterprise throughout their venture.
Providing an overview of Blackberry’s Strategy
Blackberry is a global corporation headquartered in Canada that plays a key role in software
and worldwide use of the Internet. Blackberry was known as Research In Motion, which
established a smartphone and tablet brand called BlackBerry. This corporation was founded in
1984, but due to the strategy of ‘Falling market share, Product delays and Angry investors’, it
failed (Castaldo, 2012). A new chief executive and CEO, John S.Chen, took over in November
2013 and made major investments in the company. His big proposal was to assign production to
Foxconn and to concentrate on software technology. John has driven BlackBerry from a
'hardware icon' to a software leader with a successful transformation. Along with its corporation
in cybersecurity and integrated software development. John had set plans for the industry
planning to optimize its brand power and legacy in mobile security to stimulate into the
enterprising, a growing share with billions of connected devices and market opportunities, for
instance, TCL Communications.
In 1984 to 2007, Blackberry was highly competitive in introducing groundbreaking products and
services; we can see a simple trend in the Blackberry adaptive cycle. A glance, BlackBerry was
the Apple of today. However, a remarkable transition arose, with demand quickly decreasing in
Blackberry, and in 2016, BlackBerry stopped making its own phones. Blackberry was in turmoil,
due to its reliance on an already-determined approach focused on software that was built
around the design of a fantastic platform that only succeeded and iterated slowly. To that end,
they would add little features over time, but they weren't shooting for major, dramatic changes
that would disturb and thrill customers. However, Blackberry wanted to set up a viable plan to
solve near-long-term problems before affecting any of the users. Not just whether we see a new
BlackBerry in the near future, the phones will always be the 'brick foundation' of smartphone
technology (Appolonia ,2019).
Downloaded by: tskl |
Distribution of this document is illegal
, Stuvia.co.uk - The Marketplace for Revision Notes & Study Guides
Mobile security along with cybersecurity with software growth was one of its main strategic
objectives, according to the Blackberry business article (Moser, 2020). The company's goods,
often more of a company producer than a client, have developed a reputation for their
cybersecurity. In 2019, the company purchased an A.I.-based cybersecurity business, known to
be Cylance, for $1.4 billion; it intends a rapidly distributed global workforce of even more
insecure connected devices to create demand for its product. The company is yet substantial,
but the BlackBerry brand has shrunk into obscurity: its profits were $259 million, up 6% from last
year with a loss of only $23 million. The company is tougher to say as it is essentially the
intellectual property, by software harvested through Blackberry's tech, which provided a play by
Cylance to be part of cybersecurity. Not quite the supplies of the iPhone, but business tech isn't
a poor place to be (Moser, 2020).
This indicates that Blackberry's mission reflected the great advances in technology through
software, as well as, security and made the company look visionary and superior. Yet,
Blackberry did have issues of failure in producing a smartphone with an upgraded software
system, but upgrading the appearance of the smartphone, that was produced and marketed
later, which is poor marketing. Yet having situations of predicting future trends, inadequate
positioning in a competitive market, which is often known as major strategic vulnerabilities, this
could not be reasons for the collapse of Blackberry from the point of view of the action strategy
of the company.
Additionally, the journalist analysis reveals that Blackberry, the CEO Chen was focused on the
smartphones' appearance, rather than the technology itself, which caused the company to be
behind today's trends of technology, causing furious investors. Chen did come across
culmination of the software before, which eventually he stepped down due to losing money and
in crisis after having to restate its results as he took the helm in 1998. Chen himself stated in an
interview: "There is a lot to do, are a lot of challenges or otherwise I would not be interested”.
Similarly, to Blackberry, Chen faced a similar situation, yet he did manage to improve on the
Software for Cybersecurity (Finkle and Rocha, 2013).
Blackberry’s Strategy Failure
Blackberry was the first wireless tech that developed a handheld device ideal for emailing,
which transformed it into a major player in the electronics market. Thumb-wheels for scrolling
were added, the screens got bigger, and soon a phone was added to the device, initially one
that could be used with an external headset (Fildes, 2016).
Overtime, Blackberry struck from within 3 million subscribers unsubscribing. This is because of
their leadership. The role of leadership in every organisation affects the distribution of attention
by members and active leaders to it to achieve the goals of the business. The importance of
BlackBerry's leadership has shown a fragile performance with the introduction of the iPhone and
other competitors (Tobak, 2012). In this case, chaos is the result of a poor leadership strategy
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