Operation and Strategic Management Case Study: Nokia and Microsoft

This assignment presents a case study analysis of Nokia and Microsoft, focusing on their operation and strategic management approaches. The Nokia case examines the company's "Burning Platform" memorandum, identifying elements of James' Operations Management definition and Hill's framework for Operations Strategy formulation. It explores internal and external factors affecting Nokia's performance and analyzes the CEO's motivational techniques. The Microsoft case study investigates changes from 2013 onwards, evaluating the evolution of the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It highlights Microsoft's shift in strategy, investments in voice input technology, and its approach to competition, ultimately assessing the impact of these factors on the company's strategic direction. Desklib provides this assignment as a resource for students studying operation and strategic management, offering access to solved case studies and past papers.

Operation Management
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Contents
Case Study 1 Operation Management case study: Nokia..........................................................3
Abstract...................................................................................................................................3
Introduction............................................................................................................................3
1. Which elements related with James’ Operations Management definition do you identify
within the “Burning Platform” memorandum?......................................................................3
2. Which of the five steps within Hill’s framework for Operations Strategy formulation do
you recognize?........................................................................................................................3
3. What internal and external factors do you observe?..........................................................4
4. Comment on the CEO’s use of violent imagery and language (burning platform, death,
war) as a motivational tool. What are the pros and cons? Do you feel motivated? Can this
approach backfire?..................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................5
Case Study 2 Strategic Management..........................................................................................6
Abstract...................................................................................................................................6
1. What are the main changes occurred in your selected company from 2013 up to today?. 6
2. How have the strengths of the company evolved in this period?.......................................6
3. What do you consider to be the weaknesses of the company during this period?.............7
4. How have the opportunities of the company evolved in this period?................................7
5. What do you consider to be the threats to the company during this period?......................8
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................8
Reference....................................................................................................................................9
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Case Study 1 Operation Management case study: Nokia
Abstract
The Operation management has to be good and to meet this end there is a need for good
operation manager who possesses the ability to transform the resources of the company into
goods and services it offers. First of all the elements of operation management from James
Operation strategy are identified from Burring Platform memorandum of Nokia. Hills five-
step strategies recognised are also discussed in relation to Nokia. The internal and external
factors observed are covered in the later section. The motivations tool used by the CEO of
Nokia is analysed and the pros and cons of it are also covered.
Introduction
The case study of Nokia is carried out to understand the value of operational strategy. The
developments efforts are required to be made by the company.
1. Which elements related with James’ Operations Management definition do you
identify within the “Burning Platform” memorandum?
James’ Operation Management defines the operation management as the process of
producing and delivering goods and services. The operation manager is to manage the
transformation process of covering the input of organisation into finished goods and services.
All department of the organisation has this operation management process.
The element of right decision making by every operation manager has to be there for
transforming the resources of the company into physical goods and services as per customer
expectation (James, 2011). It was found out in the case of Nokia’s Burning Platform that
there was lack of process management in collecting the information about trends and thereby
the transformation of the customers in various forms.
2. Which of the five steps within Hill’s framework for Operations Strategy formulation
do you recognize?
Hills framework provides the complete guide which involves five steps for operation strategy
formation. In a battle of restoring Nokia, Hills framework’s five steps can be followed.
1. Define Corporate Objectives
It is identified that Nokia is planning to work for regaining its earlier position in a well-
planned. It must define its objectives clearly and make planning in such a manner wherein the
focus will be there on attitude inside Nokia. It must focus on improving the accountability
and leadership, introducing fast innovation by focusing more on research and development. It
must also draw attention to collaboration and thereby to earn the high return and improve its
market share in the short time period.
2. Determine marketing strategies to meet these objectives
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In order to achieve the above-defined objectives, Nokia can use various marketing strategies.
These includes:
 Defining target market and it will make all efforts to satisfy the target market.
 Identifying the needs to be satisfied by the product of the company. Here Nokia will
identify the type of product it will have to produce to satisfy the product needs of
customers (Foropon and McLachlin, 2012).
 Marketing method- Under this head Nokia will have to use best marketing method so
that it can attract the attention and focus of its target customers. It can use internet
marketing, direct marketing etc.
 Setting the time period for evaluation of marketing efforts- under it company will be
using time framework wherein the evaluation of performance will be made about the
suitability of different strategies.
 The mixed strategy will be used by it for uplifting the overall growth of the company.
3. Assess how different products win order against competitors.
Here Nokia must use its marketing strategy against the competitive factors like price, quality,
and speed. The five major factors will be considered by it like speed, quality, dependability,
cost, and flexibility. Reliance over these factors will give a competitive advantage to it
wherein it will develop a product which is customer oriented.
4. Establishing appropriate mode to the delivery of a set of the product.
Nokia will use the best mode for delivery of the goods to its customer. It will use online and
direct sale methods to sell its products.
5. Infrastructure required to support operation.
Nokia will require the strong research and development which will bring innovative products
and will lead the company to gain competitive advantage. It will also require highly
experienced and qualified leaders who will help in integration in all departments of the
company and concentrated efforts will be made for improving performance. The good tool of
marketing will also be required to support operation along with the skilled employees’
contribution (Majukwa, et. al., 2016).
3. What internal and external factors do you observe?
There are various factors which are to be considered by the management of the organisations
like Nokia. These factors affect the growth and the development of the organization as well
as plans and strategies are also made by considering these factors. There are both, internal
and external factors which affect the survival of the company which is as follows:
External Factor
 Change in Market Trends: Nokia was unable to predict or forecast the future
market opportunities as the company kept on working with Symbian instead of
working with Android as its market was increasing day by day. Most of the users
were shifting towards Android Operating system rather than using Java and Symbian
operating system phones.
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 Increase in Competition: As due to technological advancement, there was a rise in
the number of the competitors. Where Nokia was struggling to get back up, Apple and
Samsung captured most of the customers in the market.
Internal Factor
 Decision making by the management of the organisation: The managers of the
company, Nokia was unable to make the right decision at right time i.e. dropping
Symbian operating system and introducing the Android or other operating system cell
phones.
4. Comment on the CEO’s use of violent imagery and language (burning platform,
death, war) as a motivational tool. What are the pros and cons? Do you feel motivated?
Can this approach backfire?
The motivational memo, “The burning platform” by the Chief Executive Officer of the
company i.e., Stephen Elop was based on the situation that Nokia was facing. If the company
didn’t adopt the current market trend i.e. using another operating system for the cell phones
and introducing such cell phones which could battle with the cell phones of companies Like
Apple and Samsung, then the company won’t be able to survive (Edwards, 2013).
Motivating the employees or the workforce through the imagery scenario provides them
understanding about the situation the company is facing. If the employee is loyal to the
company, then such employee will work with the company to ensure that company survives
the troublesome times. Whereas some employs may not get motivated by this and due to fear
or threat, they may leave the job (Li, 2014).
Conclusion
It is concluded that there are various external and internal factors due to which the operation
strategy of Nokia was subjected to failure. The operation strategy which it will be adopting
has to be used in the above-discussed manners. Nokia needs to work towards improving its
strategy further to gain the leading position in the satisfying the customer about products.
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Case Study 2 Strategic Management
Abstract
The focus of this part of the assignment is on the strategic management and its impact on the
business activities of the selected organisation. In this part, the selected organisation for
assignment is Microsoft Corporation which is an information technology organisation. Due
to change in the trends in the market, there have been various changes in the selected
organisation and the same are identified. Changes are also influenced by the strengths and
weaknesses of the organisation and which keeps on fluctuating with the passing time. At the
same time, there are various opportunities which are too grabbed by the management of the
organisation for sustaining the organisational growth and in this time, the organisation has to
deal with different types of threats in the evolving global market.
1. What are the main changes occurred in your selected company from 2013 up to
today?
It is necessary for an organisation, its growth, and development that new and improved
products and services are offered to the consumers so that their loyalty towards the
organisation doesn’t tremble. Following are the changes since the period of 2013:
 According to the Foley, 2014, Microsoft is considered to be the first company to
introduce an alternative option to the keyboard and mouse for the input. This option is
the “Voice Input” method (Foley, 2014). The list of investment for the voice-input by
the Microsoft is made with Cortana which works as a personal assistant in Window 8,
10 and other upcoming versions of Windows.
 According to the Bort, 2015, after the appointment of the SatyaNadella, the
oragnisation, Microsoft has ended the war with Android and Apple. It can be seen that
the organisation is still competing with them but in a good and healthy competitive
way (Bort, 2015). In the public demos, the organisation has used Apple’s iPhones and
iPad.
 In the recent times, the organisation focused on “reinventing productivity” by
introducing the new and updated products i.e. the software such as Skype Translator,
Outlook app for cell phones, Delve, etc (Bort, 2015).
2. How have the strengths of the company evolved in this period?
As mentioned above, there have been various changes in Microsoft Corporation and after the
appointment of the SatyaNadella as the Chief Executive Officer in the year 2014, the
organisation is working effectively and efficiently. With the passing time, the organisation is
providing new and improved products and services to the consumers which have an influence
over the strengths of the company which is as follows:
 Increase in a number of loyal customers towards the brand.
 High reputation or recognition of the company all over the global market.
 It provides the software which is easier to use (Jurevicius, 2013).
 The distribution channels of the organisation are strong.
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 Strong Financial Background
The impact of the strength of the organisation can be seen in the revenues generated by the
organisation all over the globe. From the period of 2013-current time, the revenue of the
company has increased from 77.85 Billion in 2013 and 89.95 in 2017 (Statista, 2018).
3. What do you consider to be the weaknesses of the company during this period?
There is a different side to the business activities or the operations and the functions of the
company (Ritson, 2013). No company is perfect, therefore each company has some of the
weaknesses or the areas in which it lacks. Same is with the multinational company, Microsoft
Corporation.
There are a number of weaknesses which are identified and which are as follows:
 The decisions of acquiring and making investments are considered to be poor like
LinkExchange, WebTV, etc.
 The company is highly dependent on the manufacturers of hardware(Jurevicius,
2013).
 The user of the products of the company i.e. the software are facing security issues.
 The company is considered to take time to innovate and introduce new products i.e.
slow innovation.
The impact of these weaknesses can be seen on the revenues after 2015 in which the revenues
of the company was 93.58 Billion U.S. Dollars and which fell down to 85.32 and 89.95
Billion in the year 2016 and 2017 (Statista, 2018).
4. How have the opportunities of the company evolved in this period?
Due to globalisation, the global market is considered as one market which provides the
organisations different opportunities so that the organisation can focus and aims towards the
organisational enhancement and development along with providing better products and
services to the consumers (Ritson, 2013). In the era of digitalisation, Microsoft is leading the
way to the development of various technological Upgradations. This can be understood by
the opportunities available with the company, which are:
 As all the storage in today’s time is cloud-centric, the company is providing the
products and services which are cloud-based.
 Digitalisation has made promotion easier; the company has the option to promote the
products and services via mobile advertising (Jurevicius, 2013).
 The company has the options to acquire other organisations and walk towards the
growth of the organisation.
The introduction of voice input system will attract more customers as Microsoft is the first
company to do so. This will leads to the growth and development of the company.
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5. What do you consider to be the threats to the company during this period?
As the marketplace has become aggressive and competitive, there are various threats which
are faced by the company and are as follows:
Competition in Software Sector: Microsoft needs to be competitive for introducing the
operating system in both PCs and cell phones as the companies like Google and Apple are
doing the same.
Change in Trends: The preference of the consumer changes with the time. They shift from
PC to laptop, laptop to cell phones and tablet in no time. It is to be ensured by Microsoft that
adequate services are provided to the consumers in each aspect (Jurevicius, 2013).
Lawsuits: The Company has been sued several times already which waste the time and
resources of the company. If the company doesn’t take care of the same, more lawsuits will
follow.
Conclusion
In accordance with the study made above, it is concluded that there various factors which
influence the growth and development of the company, this also includes formulating the
strategies for the operation of the company. This part discusses the new and unique products
and services which are introduced by Microsoft in the recent times and due to which the
company is able to generate more revenues. It is essential that the company must introduce
products and the services based on its strengths and must overcome its weaknesses. It is also
essential that all the opportunities coming towards the company must be grabbed properly
and the threats must be dealt with accordingly.
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Reference
Bort, J.(2015). How Satya Nadella has changed Microsoft in just one year. Business Insider.
Available at: https://www.businessinsider.in/How-Satya-Nadella-has-changed-
Microsoft-in-just-one-year/articleshow/46115078.cms. [Accessed: 23.06.2018]
Edwards, J. (2013). Al Microsoft Employees Should Read Stephen Elop's 'Burning Platform'
Memo Right Now. Business Insider. Available at:
http://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-elops-burning-platform-memo-2013-9.
[Accessed: 23.06.2018]
Foley, M. (2014). 5 Microsoft Changes That Mattered Most. Redmond Magazine. Available
at: https://redmondmag.com/articles/2014/12/01/5-microsoft-changes.aspx.
[Accessed: 23.06.2018]
Foropon, C. and McLachlin, R. (2012). International Journal of Operations & Production
Management Emerald Article: Metaphors in operations management theory
building.International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 33.
James, T. (2011). Operations Strategy. Bookboon.
Jurevicius, O.(2013). SWOT analysis of Microsoft. Strategic Management Insight. Available
at: https://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/swot-analyses/microsoft-swot-
analysis.html. [Accessed: 23.06.2018]
Li, X. (2014). Operations Management of Logistics and Supply Chain: Issues and
Directions.Hindawi Publishing Corporation.
Majukwa, D., Haddud, A. and Liu, S. (2016). Operations management impact on achieving
strategic fit: A case from the retail sector in Zimbabwe. Available at:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311975.2016.1189478. [Accessed on
23 June 2018]
Ritson, N. (2013). Strategic Management. Bookboon.
Statista (2018). Microsoft's annual revenue worldwide, from FY 2002 to FY 2017 (in billion
U.S. dollars). Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/267805/microsofts-
global-revenue-since-2002/. [Accessed: 23.06.2018]
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