Facebook: Case Study Analysis of Strategic Planning and IT Systems

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Facebook, examining its strategic planning perspective, goals, and information systems. The analysis delves into Facebook's business objectives, including its approach to innovation and market penetration. It assesses the company's IT infrastructure, including its data management systems, and identifies potential system design shortfalls, particularly concerning security. Furthermore, the report evaluates Facebook's position within the push/pull matrix, considering its brand development and collaborative associations. Finally, it offers strategic recommendations to address the company's shortcomings, focusing on security synchronization, collaborative security measures, and the use of disclaimers to mitigate risks. The report concludes with a business letter summarizing the analysis and key findings, emphasizing the importance of IT/IS components in achieving Facebook's business objectives.

Executive summary
Facebook has been subject to considerable amount of success in terms of gaining appreciation
from the consumer community. However, in recent times they have been subject to issues such
as loss of privacy and security breaches. This, has resulted in negative word of mouth and
unfavourable perception which has hindered the performance of the company. The issues that are
being faced by the company will be evaluated and suggestions will be made to mitigate the same.

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Company description.......................................................................................................................3
Analysis...........................................................................................................................................4
Strategic planning perspective.....................................................................................................4
Goals............................................................................................................................................4
Information System.....................................................................................................................5
System Analysis and Design.......................................................................................................6
Strategic Recommendations............................................................................................................7
Business Letter.................................................................................................................................9
Business Memo..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

Introduction
Facebook, initially known as The Facebook is a social networking platform that needs no second
introduction. The company was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin and three other
members (Facebook.com, 2019). The ability of the company to elevate the social networking site
to a global stature can be seen as a success story to derive inspiration from. The company has
been subject to success on various grounds and has also encountered various problems while
they have been operating. The aim of the paper is to critically analyse the issues that has been
faced by the company and to recommend for the same.
Company description
Facebook Inc. has been recognised as one of the most popular social media websites. The
company was founded in 2004, as an interactive platform that was created mainly for the purpose
of helping people with development of social interaction with people (Facebook.com, 2019). The
aim of the company in the initial days of creation was to help in the development of social circles
that people were not being able to develop earlier. The company grew at a fast rate and has been
recognised by companies regardless of the stature of the latter. The advancement of digital
marketing as a marketing medium has resulted in the development of connections as a result of
which various organisations use Facebook for the purpose of marketing. The aim of the company
is to maximise the development of confections in the society that the people in and thus the
company has become a medium upon which people are highly dependent for connections in the
modern day. The social networking site is one the fastest growing business platforms and
endorsements. The success of the company has resulted in the development acquisitions that the

company has carried out. The company has acquired major stakes in companies such as
Instagram, Whatsapp, Skype and Snapchat (Trevisan et al., 2018). The company has been subject
to mixed responses from the consumers which has resulted in the various consequences for the
company.
Analysis
Strategic planning perspective
The company started operating in an industry that was not explored. Thus, the idea behind the
generation of the social media site was highly aligned towards the achievement of success. The
company has been able to develop an image that has been responsible for the degree of affiliation
that they have with the consumer community. The company has been able to successfully
position themselves in the minds of individuals throughout the globe. Recently the company has
taken up a strategy that is characterised by gaining association with similar platforms (Błachnio,
Przepiórka & Rudnicka, 2013). Thus the company started collaboration with other social media
platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, Whatsapp and others. Currently the company has been
successful in gathering majority of the stake in all the companies that they were in strategic
alliance with. The strategy that has been taken up by the company is to increase the market
presence of the company with the help of the strategic perspectives. The aim of the company is
to effectively promote the social media usage of the company with the help of the services that
they provide.
Goals
The company has been operating favourably through the past decade (Hutter et al,. 2013).
However, they have faced issues that are associated privacy breaches and several security issues.

Hence, the company has been subject to boycott from the users of the same. Thus, one of the
main goals of the company has been to resurrect the company from the negative perception that
the company has been subject to. Thus, it is one of the main aims of the company to improve the
positioning that they have been successful in developing in the minds of the customers. The
company earns revenue with the help of the promotion facilities that are provided to the
businesses on Facebook. With the popularity of digital marketing, the use of Facebook for
purposes other than social interactions has increased and has resulted in the increase of the
effectiveness of the use of the said medium. Innovation is of key importance in the organisation
and the latter has constantly carried out innovation in order to gain effectiveness from the
individuals who use the said medium (Autio et al., 2014). Thus it can be said that the goals of the
company is to mitigate the unfavourable perception that the consumer community have on the
social media service provided, increase the productivity of the business by boosting the
effectiveness of the online business portals and by satiating the needs of the stakeholder groups
associated with the company. Realisation of the goals will ensure that the sustainability of the
company in terms of gaining effectiveness from the individuals who are responsible for the
development of efforts through which the company will be able to gain effectiveness while
operating in the industry that is controlled by perception and word of mouth.
Information System
Facebook has been recognised as one of the most popular social networks in the world if not the
most popular social network in the world (Hays, Page & Buhalis 2013). As a result of the
popularity of the company, numerous pictures, videos and information are being constantly
added to Facebook. There are various forms of data that the company has to cater to from the end
of the users. This leads to the need for a cloud that is characterised by the need for the

development of capabilities of the company that allow them to effectively manage the data
inflow towards the company. Facebook has developed a compiler which allows them to use PHP
with which they transform the codes that are native in nature into the web servers. Linux is used
by the company in the form of a network throughput (Hiney et al., 2015). It has also been found
that the company uses MySQL for the purpose of key value storage (Pokorny, 2013). Haystack,
BigPipe and Memcached are other mechanisms that are incorporated into the operations of the
company. The latter are information systems that are responsible for the effective management of
bulk data that flows through the servers of the company. The information systems have been
chosen in order to ensure that the information that is exchanged between the users and the
company protected in a secure manner.
System Analysis and Design
The System Analysis and Design of the company has been able to incorporate four stages of
system analytics. Transaction processing system in the first stage that is operational level,
Knowledge work systems in the knowledge level, Management Information systems and expert
systems have also been incorporated into the higher level system analytics. The strategic level of
the system analytics involves CSCWS or Computer Supported Collaborative Work Systems (Ke
& Hsu 2015). Components such as Group Decision Support Systems and Executive support
systems have been failed to be incorporated into the framework of Facebook. The systems are
designed with the help of prototyping which is possible through beta development services. IDs
or Intrusion detection systems are incorporated into the framework of the social networking site
(Liao, 2013). This allows protection of the sensitive data that are being interchanged between
different people however there has been breach of security that leads to development of security
issues that has to development of informational breaches from which the company has suffered.

Micro Case study:
Strategic planning perspective: Through collaborations and innovation
Goals:
 Innovation
 Getting rid of unfavourable perception
 Collaborative association.
 Penetration of markets.
Information System
Facebook has developed a compiler which allows them to use PHP with which they
transform the codes that are native in nature into the web servers. Linux is used by the company
in the form of a network throughput. MySQL for the purpose of key value storage (Pokorny,
2013). Haystack, BigPipe and Memcached are other mechanisms that are incorporated into the
operations of the company.
System Design
The strategic level of the system analytics involves CSCWS or Computer Supported
Collaborative Work Systems (Ke & Hsu 2015). Components such as Group Decision Support
Systems and Executive support systems have been failed to be incorporated into the framework
of Facebook. The systems are designed with the help of prototyping which is possible through

beta development services. IDs or Intrusion detection systems are incorporated into the
framework of the social networking site.
Ch5H
The company incorporates both push and pull strategies in their operations. There are pop
ups advertises and other forms other information that is effectively communicated to the users of
the social media website. Currently the company falls in the push quadrant of the push and pull
matrix. The company has been successful in gaining recognition from users across the world and
have been successful in development of an image. As a result of the successful establishment of
the website, they have been able to gain the effectiveness in operations with the help of the
effective brand development that they have been able to establish in the market. With the help of
effective development of the brand and collaborative associations, the company has been able to
gain maximum exposure to the potential users of the solutions. Thus, as a result of the nature of
operations of the company, they have been able to create a presence in the market that helps
them in gaining awareness and effectiveness from the consumer community as a result of which
individuals are pulled towards the direction of the company.
Micro case study
Strategic Recommendations
The shortfalls that have been experienced by the company can be deemed to be
catastrophic for the wellbeing and sustainability of the organisation in the long run. The
company has been involved in various controversies and feuds with the federal government as a
result of the breach of security that the company was supposedly subject to. The shortfalls that
have been faced by the company are in terms of the lack of a secured information management

system that the company has incorporated. The company is associated with various other social
media platforms whose sustainability would be in jeopardy if the parent company is subject to
issues such as the ones the company has been subject to. Thus, the following have been
recommended;
1. Security synchronisation: Breach of security can take place at any point and from any
source. Hence, synchronisation of the source and the online portal being used to analyse
the medium would possibly help in minimisation of security breaches.
2. Collaborative security: Proper functioning of each components of the website requires
smooth functioning of all the aspects. By gaining collaborative associations with
companies who excel in providing security, Facebook will be able to develop a
framework through which the company will be able to ensure that the individuals using
the social network site will be ensured of safety.
3. Disclaimers: By providing disclaimers, the company would be able to mitigate the issues
that they might face on the advent of loss of information. The aim of the company is to
cater to the needs of the individuals who would be subject issue regarding loss of security
if any.

Business Letter
To Date: XX.XX.XXX
Whom so ever it may concern
Subject: Interpreting Business Objectives and Strategy
Dear Sir/ Ma’am,
Facebook has been the centre of attention of various organisations, media and public interest in
the last couple of years. Even though the company has been able to have favourable nature of
operation while it is operating in the industry, the negative perception has been hampering the
usage of the company. Thus, it is the main concern of this letter.
The high number of security breaches that has taken placement in the company in the past years
has resulted in the development of negative perception that has taken place. Thus, by improving
the security of the social media site with the help of collaborative associations with organisation
providing such services. The objectives of the organisation has been achieved in terms of
increasing the awareness and positioning itself in the minds of the consumers. Hence, it is an
earnest request to you to show us the lee way.
Yours faithfully,
XXX XXXXX

Business Memo
To: Employees of Facebook
From: Management
Date: xx.xx.xxxx
Subject: Security and Privacy
Dear employees,
The company has encountered unfavourable experiences in its recent past. This, has resulted in
negative goodwill and perception that the company is subject to. This has also reflected in the
culture of the organisation. Employees at all levels have not received the issues well and this can
be reflected in the performance. This, measures are being taken to mitigate the issues that are
being faced by the company. The main activity that is to be carried out is the improvement of
security. The latter can be achieved by gaining collaborative associations with the organisation
who provide similar services.
Regards,
Management

REFERENCES
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Security (pp. 442-447). IEEE.
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Liao, H.J., Lin, C.H.R., Lin, Y.C. and Tung, K.Y., 2013. Intrusion detection system: A
comprehensive review. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 36(1), pp.16-24.