Boldflash: Cross-functional Challenges in Mobile Division - Analysis

This case study examines the cross-functional challenges faced by Boldflash's mobile division, focusing on issues related to stakeholder expectations, departmental conflicts, and marketing strategies. The analysis identifies key problems such as poor coordination, unmet customer needs, and ineffective pricing. The paper explores the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats affecting the company, highlighting the root causes of these challenges, including inadequate marketing, lack of market research, and operational inefficiencies. The study proposes solutions such as improved marketing, enhanced teamwork, and addressing customer concerns, emphasizing the importance of aligning product development with customer needs and expectations. Furthermore, it discusses alternative solutions, including competitive pricing strategies, and suggests the adoption of technology and innovation to improve operational efficiency and overall performance.

Running Head: BOLDFLASH: CROSS-FUNCTIONAL CHALLENGES IN THE MOBILE
DIVISION 1
Boldflash: Cross-functional Challenges in the Mobile Division
Names
Institution

BOLDFLASH: CROSS-FUNCTIONAL CHALLENGES IN THE MOBILE DIVISION 2
Boldflash: Cross-functional Challenges in the Mobile Division
Introduction
Harvard business review in 2012 first published the case relating to the cross-functional
challenges in the mobile division experienced by Boldflash. According to Sofija (2015), this firm
was initiated by two computer science experts in 1982 in Waltham Massachusetts. The case
provides an insight of how the management could strategically manage this company and attain
substantial growth. This paper discusses the problems facing the stakeholders, assumptions
made, expectations, and the concerns underlying the demand. It will also address the issues that
are less central but still requires attention, as well as those that can be ignored for the foreseeable
future.
Assessment of challenges, major stakeholders, and their concerns
From this case, the primary stakeholders in this business where customers, the
management, and employees. Each of them had expectations and concerns because of the
manner in which things were being done in the company. For instance, the customers expected
the company to produce high-quality products that matched the advanced technology, and also
ones which could address their needs. According to Whelan (2015), consumers expect to get
high-quality products and at a reasonable price. Therefore, the consumers, in this case, also
expected to attain them at a reasonable price, and in high quality.
The customer concerns were that the company failed to recognize their importance to
their business operations because the products were attaining were not meeting what they
expected. Irrespective of the expectations which the consumers had, the management did very
little to develop the products in a manner which would make them to attain satisfaction. As a

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result of this, the customers shifted their loyalty to other firms where they thought it was possible
to achieve the best.
Employee expectations were to have a management team which coordinates all activities
undertaken during the production process, and also one which motivates its staff members.
However, this was not the case. The workplace had unproductive conflicts between the
functional departments which made it challenging for the staff members to work in the right
manner. According to Heath (2011), conflicts impact concentration in tasks because employees
mainly put more attention on the conflicts than what they are supposed to accomplish. This
might be one of the reasons that made the management to fail in meeting consumer needs
because it mainly concentrated on the issues that were being witnessed than satisfying the
customers.
Although these company has various strengths and opportunities which can assist it to
attain success, there are various weaknesses and threats which can hinder it from attains some of
its goals. The following tables presents the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats faced
by this Boldflash.

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Strengths
 The company has high quality
products
 Its product development department
has highly scientific PHD
professionals
Weaknesses
 Lack of coordination and
communication gap
 Poor pricing strategies
 Lack of experienced marketers
 Products do not meet customer
expectations
Opportunities
 Make storage devices for tablets
 Attract large market share
Threats
 The company can be affected by
competition because its tablets lack
proper NAND technology.
 There is also a possibility of losing
market share because there is low
customer satisfaction level.
From the above table, one of the significant challenges faced by this organization is lack
of coordination among its management divisions. Although it struggled to adapt the growing and
challenging marketplace, the four groups within the unit did not admit to working as a team. This
factor made the unit to fail to capitalize on new product opportunities. Lack of coordination also

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made the top management to experience challenges and pressure in reforming the product
development process to save the division.
The other challenge faced by this organization is difficulties to meet the constant increase
in consumer bargaining power because of high-density NAND flash memory technology.
According to the case, a single consumer could consume a third for newer flash memory
technology. Vijay (2014) affirms that increase in consumer bargaining power makes an
organization to experience challenges because it must strive to cope with the changes. From this
case, the management increase in bargaining power means the management must attempt to
produce high-quality products, improved customer services, and reasonable prices.
Marketing is also another problem which affected this organization. From the case, the
company had marketing specialists who were smart and analytical but did not have experience in
introducing new products to the market. This is a serious problem which can impact the
possibility of attaining a substantial market share because according to Ludmila (2012),
marketing is crucial for the adaption of new products in a particular market because it aids in
making consumers to know about the existence of products and why they should purchase them.
Failing to meet customer needs and expectations is also another challenge portrayed in
this case. When operating a business, understanding what customers expect and developing
products to meet their expectations is always fundamental (Heather, 2016). The mobile division
could not commercialize the technology which was developed because it failed to align the
specifications of the new product with customer needs and expectations. This factor made it to
realize low customer base while the competitors were enjoying a substantial market share.

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According to Rupasheree (2015), pricing is a crucial aspect in determining the success of
an organization. From this case, the mobile division is experiencing pricing pressure from
competitors. When the competitors produce high-quality products and sell them at highly
competitive prices, the chances of consumers shifting their loyalty to such organizations are
always high. For the mobile division, the pricing strategy used was not competitive and therefore
made the business to experience challenges in trying to attain a substantial market share.
From this case, the management had revenue goals which it targeted to attain. However,
it was challenging to achieve them because of poor operational and marketing strategies. For
instance, the products were sold at any price without putting into consideration the impact on
margins. According to David (2010), revenue goals are only met if an organization understands
various aspects such as the competitors’ selling prices, the costs incurred in producing goods and
services, the quality of products, and the amount in which the consumers are willing to pay for
the products.
Root Causes
One of the factors that caused some of the problems like for instance, lack of meeting
customer needs is poor marketing strategies is lack of proper marketing strategies. According to
Rupasheree (2015), marketing plays a key role in making a company to identify the needs and
expectations of customers and designing the products in a manner which can make them become
appealing. The management, in this case, was not meeting customer needs and this factor made
them to shift their loyalty to its competitors.
The other issue that led to these problems is lack of doing research to understand the
changes in the market. Whelan (2015) affirms that doing market research is important because it

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helps organizations to understand what need to be changed. This includes understanding changes
in consumer perception, emerging trends and so forth.
Failing to invest in technology and innovation also led to these problems. Being a
company that deals with products related to technology, the management was supposed to
identify all aspects related to technological changes in regard to its products. This was supposed
to include functionality of its tablets, what the competitors does to ensure they are appealing to
the customers.
Failing to use proper operational strategies especially pertaining management of human
resources is also another issue that led to these problems. Ludmila (2012) affirms that employees
are among the most important assets that the company should maintain. This means the
management was supposed to improve the wellbeing of its staff members including
communicating problems, and motivating them to commit their efforts towards better outcome.
Identification of problems
To attain success, the management should solve all serious issues that are likely to impact
the company from achieving its goals. According to Choi & Rainey (2013), customers are the
most important assets which a company can have. Therefore, this organization should ensure it
produces products which are of high quality, and also ones which meet consumer expectations.
To attain this, the marketing team should conduct regular research to identify what customers
expect and try to align those expectations in product development. Working based on advanced
technology can also be fundamental in addressing the changing needs of its consumers.
Because the company operates in a competitive market and has failed to use strategies
which can assist it to attain a competitive advantage, it is essential to come up with operational

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tactics which can help it to challenge its rivals. In this case, the management should implement
an approach which will aid in increasing growth rate and market share through focusing on
customer needs. Tsai (2015) affirms that competition is one of the factors which impact the
success of businesses and therefore using better strategies which can challenge competitors can
assist organizations to realize sustainable growth.
One of the problems that have led to poor performance in this organization is
departmental conflicts and lack of proper ways of communicating issues which arise. To address
this issue, the management should make all employees understand the importance of teamwork.
According to Ravasi & Philips (2011), working in teams plays a key role in producing
exceptional products because it enables employees to share ideas, motivate each other and tackle
some of the things that seem impossible. The management can address the issue of departmental
conflicts by requesting its staff members to complete tasks in groups, and also by sending
employees for training, seminars and workshops.
To address the problem of challenges in introducing new products to the market, it is
advisable to hire people who have high expertise and experience in marketing. One of the factors
which made the company to have slow adoption of new products in the market was that its
management hired marketing professionals who lacked experience. To solve this issue, the
company should employ specialists who understand various marketing issues such as product
differentiation, targeting, segmentation, and so forth.
The other critical problem that can be solved is failing to have an all-inclusive culture in
the company. Milad (2016) affirms that having a culture that accommodates people with varying
views, opinions and beliefs is fundamental to the success of businesses. Although this company

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has assertive leaders, some of them are failing in leading diverse departments through storming
stage. To solve this issue, the management should understand some of the advantages of
promoting diversity in the workplace. Some of them comprise increasing loyalty among
employees, building brand entity, attracting and retaining talent, and making advocates out of
employees.
The other thing which needs to be solved is the manner in which its management handles
the difficulties which company goes through. According to Wray-Bliss (2018), communicating
challenges is crucial in business operations because it assists in informing others concerning
what the companies go through, hence making it possible for the stakeholders to contribute in
solving the problems. From this case, the management does not communicate difficulties, and
this factor had made the company to realize some of the things that would have been addressed
before they even occurred.
Analysis of alternative solutions
To address the problem of not using proper pricing strategies, the management should
analyze the selling prices used by its competitors on similar products. According to j Wray-Bliss
(2018), using selling prices that are closely related to those of competitors makes a company to
maintain its loyal customers. The company should also ensure it uses technology and innovation
in its operations to be able to succeed in its pricing strategies. Stephen (2016), affirms that when
an organization incurs less production cost, it becomes easier to sell its products or services at
lower prices than its competitors and make reasonable revenue.
The other problem which can be solved, in this case, is improving coordination in its
departments. One of the strategies which can be used to resolve this issue is ensuring there is

BOLDFLASH: CROSS-FUNCTIONAL CHALLENGES IN THE MOBILE DIVISION 10
open communication. It can also be solved by ensuring all employees understand the importance
of sharing information. Dariusz (2016) affirms that communication across all departments
enhances coordination because it makes every person to realize what should be done, how it
should be done and who should do it. It also makes the staff members see the importance of
other people in the workplace.
To address the issue of failing to meet consumer expectation, the management should
have a marketing team which is focused to identifying what the customers expect, and what can
be done to ensure they are happy and sees the organization as the only one which can address
their needs. Wray-Bliss (2018) states that when customers are satisfied, they will always like
purchasing from a particular company because they like buying from where they get value for
their money.
Although these strategies may solve the identified problems, they have various strengths
and weaknesses. For example, analyzing the selling prices used by competitors can make the
management to use a pricing strategy which can attract more customers and enhance market
share. However, can make this organization to experience losses especially when it incurs high
production cost. According to Sabharwal (2014), for organizations to make better profits, the
selling prices should be higher than the cost incurred to produce goods and services. Because the
cost of production differs from one organization to the other, using other companies’ pricing
strategies may make this company to fail in attaining its revenue goals.
One of the strengths of using open communication to improve coordination within
departments is that it can enhance productivity through ensuring information is passed to all
people, and all staff members work as a team. It can also assist in identifying problems in

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advance and address them before they cause significant impacts. The weakness of using this
strategy in addressing lack of coordination in organizations is that it may make sensitive
information to be leaked. Stephen (2016) affirms that not all information needs to be passed
because some may lead to adverse impact on business operations.
The strength of using marketing team to address the issue of failing to meet consumer
expectations is that it can enable the company to develop the products in a manner which can aid
in enhancing customer loyalty. However, this strategy requires time and resources to be
successful (Stephen, 2016). It also requires the company to hire people who are highly
experienced in marketing.
Solving the identified problems using the right strategies will make the consumers to
have perceptions which can have benefits to this company. For example, when the management
uses its marketing team to understand customer expectations, the consumers will develop an
attitude that this company values them and will, therefore, establish loyalty with it. They will
also feel that this company is better than others which produce similar products and will think
about buying from it than from its competitors.
Using open communications will make the employees think that the management is
dedicated to sharing information and this will play a key role in making them devote their efforts
towards better performance. Kendrick (2011) affirms that open communication makes
employees to feel that the management is transparent in what it does, and this makes them strive
towards attaining the set goals because they feel appreciated.
Some of the problems which one may encounter when implementing the proposed cause
of actions is change resistance. Riasudeen & Srinivasan (2011) state that one of the factors that

BOLDFLASH: CROSS-FUNCTIONAL CHALLENGES IN THE MOBILE DIVISION 12
make organizations not to succeed in implementing strategies which can enhance their
performance is resistance to change. For this case, the employees may feel what they have been
doing is the best and change will negatively impact them, hence resisting anything new from
being implemented.
The other challenge which may be experienced is lack of enough resources. This is
because some of the strategies, like for instance, undertaking market research will need the
company to spend money in hiring professionals who understand issues related to customer
needs. This means the company will need to allocate some money to this activity, and this may
not be possible because it has failed to attain its revenue goals.
The person implementing these strategies may also experience difficulties in coming up
with pricing strategies which match those of competitors because for this strategy to succeed, the
company must find out the reasons that make the competitors to sell their products at a particular
price (Tawanwar, 2017). This may not be possible because every company uses pricing
strategies based on various things which vary from one organization to the other.
Recommendations
One of the recommendations which this company can use to overcome these barriers is
informing employees that change does not always cause negative impact before implementing
any strategy (Hetal, 2014). It sometimes makes an organization to overcome the obstacles which
hinder its success. For this reason, the management should take some time before implementing
the strategies that would lead to any change in the organization. This could be informing the
employees concerning what will be implemented and the likely outcomes.

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The other recommendation is dedicating the next two months to conduct market research.
This will aid in attaining information which can aid in developing the products according to
customer expectations. Some of the things that need to be considered, in this case, will include
customer perceptions, what competitors do to attract customers, and what the company can do to
attain a competitive advantage.
Taking the next one month to attain information concerning the reasons that make its
competitors to sell their products at a particular price is also advisable for this company. Having
this kind of knowledge will assist it to make sound decisions and avoid selling its products at a
price that will make it to lose its customers or fail to attain its revenue goals.
The other recommendation is taking the next three months to implement strategies that
can assist it to invest in technology and innovation. According to Milad (2016), businesses that
incorporate technology into their operations realize benefits through cost reduction, time-saving
and consumer satisfaction. Encouraging innovation can also make this company to develop
products that can make it to attain competitive advantage.
The following table provides an overview of the above recommendations
Recommendation Time Point Goal
making the employees
understand that change
does not always cause
negative impact
Before implementing
change
To minimize change
resistance
Conducting market
research
This may take up to two
months
To learn customer
perceptions and some of

BOLDFLASH: CROSS-FUNCTIONAL CHALLENGES IN THE MOBILE DIVISION 14
the things that the
competitors do to attract
customers.
Identifying the reasons
that make customers to
sell products at a
particular price
Next one month To avoid selling products
at prices which will make
the company to lose
customers and fail to meet
its revenue goals.
Investing in technology
and innovation
Next three months Develop high quality
products and attain
competitive advantage
Conclusion
From this case, Boldflash is facing various challenges that include being unable to meet
customer expectations, difficulties in communicating problems, lack of all-inclusive culture and
challenges in attaining its revenue goals. The company also experiences challenges in handling
the pressure from competition, increase in consumer bargaining power, marketing issues
including problems in getting new product in the market quickly among others.
To address these issues, its management should conduct extensive market research to
understand consumer expectations, the strategies which its competitors use to win customer
loyalty and what can be done to challenge those strategies. The management should also ensure

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there is open communication across all departments and encourage employees to use teamwork
while undertaking their tasks. It is also fundamental to use proper pricing strategy so that the
customers can get the value for their money.
To overcome the barriers that may exist in implementing these strategies, the company
must ensure it has enough resource and good schedule concerning the time which will be taken
to implement them. It is also essential to ensure there is proper understanding concerning the
reasons that may make employees to have resistance to change and address them before
implementing these strategies.

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