Analysing Leadership and Strategy at Twitter: A Case Study

This case study provides a strategic analysis of Twitter, examining its mission, strategic decisions, and leadership approaches. It applies the Ashridge Mission Model to evaluate Twitter's purpose, strategy, values, and behavioral standards, aligning them with employee values. The analysis covers Twitter's expansion, user growth, and competition, highlighting key decisions made by its leadership, including the rejection of Facebook's acquisition offer and subsequent challenges. It further explores the organization's decision-making processes, emphasizing the use of SWOT analysis and cost-benefit analysis. The study concludes that while Twitter has faced challenges, its strong sense of mission has contributed to its growth and position in the industry. Desklib provides this assignment as a resource for students, offering insights into strategic management and leadership within a dynamic tech company.

Running head: STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF TWITTER
STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF TWITTER
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF TWITTER
Part A
Answer to Question 1
About Twitter
The multinational web-based organization Twitter was established in the year 2006 by
Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams. Twitter mainly operates by
providing a platform related to social-networking and sharing of news. The headquarters of
the organization is located in San Francisco in the United States. The service that was
provided by the organization had become quite popular in 2012 and the number of users was
found to be more than 100 million. The speed of the growth of Twitter had become quite high
between the years 2011 and 2014 (Ken & Simon, 2013).
Twitter went on to acquire more organizations during the years of its operations and
further launched many apps which was linked to the main platform. The organizations which
were acquired by Twitter was a video clip manufacturing company called Vine. The Music
App of Twitter was also launched during this time. Another major organization that was
acquired by Twitter in 2013 was Crashlytics. The registration of Twitter with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission was also announced in 2013, following which the
Initial Public Offering or IPO was filed by the company. The other organizations that were
acquired by Twitter in this year were Periscope and Niche (Twitter_2013_Annual_Report_-
_FINAL.pdf. 2018).

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STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF TWITTER
Definition of the mission statement related to Twitter by Ashridge Mission Model
As implied by the Ashridge Mission Model, the organization needs to have a unique
purpose which enables Twitter to distinguish its operations from the other organizations. This
model further identifies the various scope of the operations of an organization related to the
services or products and the market terms. The mission of the organization is mainly to
empower the various users so that they can create and further share their personal ideas and
the knowledge that they possess without any constraints. The major factor that helps Twitter
to become one of the greatest revenue producing internet organization are the strategies that
are provided by Ashridge Mission Model (Babnik et al., 2014).
The organization mainly distributes the products by sharing information. This has
helped Twitter to satisfy the investors which has in turn resulted in the growth of stock price.
The major objective of Twitter is related to the maximization of the values on a long-term
basis of the employees, stakeholders, users and the suppliers. According to the values of the
model, the values and the mission of the organization needs to be aligned with the personal
values of the employees (Babnik et al., 2014).
The organization mainly adheres to the rules and policies that are set and it is known
for observing high ethics related standards. The strong sense of Twitter related to its mission
has enabled the organization to think in a clear way. The organization develops new
strategies and the analyses the existing mission to keep pace with the fast developing world
of internet, The Ashridge Mission Model and the four elements of this mode have been
followed and incorporated by Twitter (Ken & Simon, 2013).

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STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF TWITTER
Purpose of the company
The major purpose of Twitter has been to become beneficial for the stakeholders and
to never exploit them for their personal interest. The strategic decisions taken by Twitter are
mainly governed by the potential impact of these decisions on the returns of the shareholders.
The ideal organizations are able to attract the employees and retain them in an effective
manner (Twitter_Annual_Report_2014.pdf. 2018).
Strategy of the company
The strategy that has been formulated by Twitter is related to the commercial logic of
the organization. This links behaviour with purpose in ways which are logical in nature.
Twitter has become a leader in its specific domain on an international platform. The major
strategy of the organization is therefore related to the ways by which it competes in the
position which it has planned to hold. The competitive advantage that is enjoyed by the
company is also related to the strategy (Twitter_Annual_Report_2014.pdf. 2018).
Values of the organization
The employees working in Twitter feel proud about the purpose of the organization as
they believe in the open exchange of the knowledge so that a positive impact can be created.
The main commitment of the organization is related to equality and the safety of internet
which enables the employees to express their opinions in a free manner. The organization
mainly collaborates with the NGOs so that the accessibility of internet can be increased and
internet can be used in a proper way. The company also sponsors many services and
programs during the time of a disaster (Twitter_2013_Annual_Report_-_FINAL.pdf. 2018).
Behavioural standards of the organization

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STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF TWITTER
The strategy and purpose of an organization are able to serve the employees and
provide them with satisfaction. The organization has always delivered information to
employees and the users in an honest manner. The company has been revising the rules and
policies in a constant manner and the employees are able to provide their personal opinions
regarding the changes that are made in the organizational methods
(Twitter_2013_Annual_Report_-_FINAL.pdf. 2018).
Aligning the values of the organization with the values of employees
The last element of Ashridge model mainly suggests the significance of the
alignment of personal values of employees with that of the organization. The employees of
Twitter are linked with the values of the organization. The main point that is stated by the
values defined by Twitter is the freedom that is provided to the employees to express
themselves and further leave their impact on the world. Twitter operates in an innovative
manner where the employees are free to provide their opinions and grow in their personal
areas. Twitter provides huge importance to the passionate employees and their personalities.
The employees have a curious nature and are creative as well. The creativity and passion of
the employees help Twitter to align the values that are set by the organization with that of the
employees.
Analysis related to the expansion of the organization based on mission statement
The annual report of Twitter based on the year 2013 has stated that the organization
had planned for expansion of the international operations so that they are able to increase
their user base. The main importance was given by Twitter to the advertising related services.
These services have been helpful in helping the various advertisers so that they are to interact
with the potential customers in a direct manner. The international operations of the
organization can be increased so that the number of the users can also be increased. This can

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further increase the revenues of the organization in the market. The advertisers of the
organization also have to face high levels of competition (Twitter_2013_Annual_Report_-
_FINAL.pdf. 2018).
The user base of Twitter and the base of the advertisers of the organization has also
increased in 2014. The increase has been observed in the international users of the company.
The international users of Twitter are from countries like, Argentina, Brazil, France,
Germany, India and Japan. The international customer base of these regions have shown huge
growth in the recent times. The competition that is faced by Twitter locally has caused issues
in the increase of its global revenues (Twitter_Annual_Report_2014.pdf. 2018).
The organization has been able to show more growth in terms of the number of users
in the years, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The users of Twitter are the highest in the United States.
The company is however expecting huge growth in the number of users in other areas or
countries. The organization has been facing huge competition from the other platforms,
however, it is still able to hold a firm position in the industry. High levels of increase has
been shown in the number of users of Twitter in many countries including, Germany, Canada
and France (Twitter_Annual_Report_2015.pdf. 2018).
The leaders of the organization or management of Twitter has played a significant
role related to its expansion and growth. The number of wrong decisions or steps that have
been taken by Twitter have further affected the growth of the employees and the
organization.
The conclusion that can be drawn from this discussion is that the sense of mission of
Twitter is quite strong. The company has also been able to stick to the mission statement that
has been set by them.

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STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF TWITTER
Answer to Question 2
Strategic way of decision-making
The process related to decision-making in an organization is related to a specific
strategy which is significant for the smooth operations of a business. The method of the
formation of objectives of an organization is linked with the process of decision-making. The
creation of the mission of the organization helps them to achieve their goals in a systematic
manner. The decision-making method of the organization mainly involves the planning
process of various strategies which are formulated for the faster and easier achievement of
goals (Twitter_Annual_Report_2015.pdf. 2018).
The organizational strategies need to be changes as and when need arises and the
goals of the company are changed. The strategies of the company are estimated on a periodic
basis and the changes are made accordingly. The SWOT analysis framework is used for the
purpose of the decision-making in a strategic manner. The strengths, the weaknesses, the
opportunities and the threats are assessed and further the various strategies are formulated so
that the organization can use the opportunities and further address the threats as well. Another
effective process to formulate strategic decisions is cost-benefit analysis, which assists the
managers in making decisions (Twitter_Annual_Report_2015.pdf. 2018).
Strategic decisions taken by the organization
Twitter has shown huge growth during the years of its operations. Jack Dorsey has
been the leader of the organization and has more than 350 million active users. Many wrong
steps and decisions have been taken by the management of Twitter in these years. The
company was established in year 2006 by its three founding members namely, Jack Dorsey,
Biz Stone and Dick Costolo. The social media platform of Twitter was presented to the

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STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF TWITTER
potential users in the year 2007 and the company had received around 60,000 in the same
year. A huge mistake was made by Jack Dorsey in 2008 when he decided to the reject the
offer that was made of Facebook to acquire the organization. The offer was worth 500 million
dollars and thus rejection led to the elimination of Jack Dorsey from the post of CEO. The
organization had to struggle a lot in the year 2009 due to the fast growth of users and lack
services to be provided by Twitter (Twitter_Annual_Report_2014.pdf. 2018).
The organization was further attacked by cross-site scripting in the year 2010,
however the issue was fixed quite fast. The merger and partnership of Google and Twitter in
the same year and all the information related to this platform was deleted from Google. The
organization was under huge pressure and confusion as the developers suffered a lot due to
the decisions that were taken by the management of Twitter. Another major change was made
in Twitter in the year 2013 when the concept of blue line conversation was further introduced
and it assisted the users to link the conversations. The change that was made in the “block”
option of the Twitter app was another wrong decision which affected the organization in an
adverse manner (Twitter_Annual_Report_2014.pdf. 2018).
The privacy of the users was attacked as the people who were blocked by them were
just muted and they were still able to follow users. This was a change that received a lot of
criticism in the industry. A major decision was taken by Twitter to enhance the website and
make it user-friendly in nature. This change was made as the organization was under huge
pressure to sell off its shares. Twitter had to face huge mayhem in 2015 after the resignation
of the CEO of the organization, following which Jack Dorsey was again appointed at the post
of the CEO of Twitter (Twitter_Annual_Report_2015.pdf. 2018).
After the re-appointment of Dorsey as the CEO of Twitter, new changes were made in
the operations and new strategies were also formulated. The organization had also seen many

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STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF TWITTER
lay-offs in the same year according to the decision taken by the CEO. By the end of the year
2015 Twitter was again in debate which further led to the decision of the appointment of the
head of diversity.
Twitter made a new start in the year 2016 and the operations of the company were
also improved. The analysis related to the various strategic decisions that were taken by
Twitter has depicted that Twitter had faced many issues between the years 2006 and 2016.
Differences between intended and deliberate process of strategy making
The concept of deliberate strategy is related to the vision of the organization which is
related to formulation of strategy. Thinking and planning is important before acting. On the
other hand, intended strategy can be defined as the strategy which is related to execution and
implementation in the organizations. This can be termed as business plan which is made by a
business.
Competitive advantage of the organization
The major competitive advantages of the organization are related to the process of
information sharing which fast and instant in nature. The users are able to select the source of
the information from the area they aim to follow. The connectivity range of Twitter is
considered to be quite high as compared to the other organizations. The range of the users of
Twitter ranges from homeless to millionaires and the celebrities as well (Ken & Simon,
2013).
Sustaining competitive advantage of Twitter
Twitter has been successful in sustaining the competitive advantage over the other
apps which provide social networking platforms to users. The organization has been able to
revive its operations even after many years of turmoil.

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STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF TWITTER
The major aspects of Twitter are analysed in the discussion. The strategies and the
values of the company are also discussed and analysed. The statement related to the mission
of the organization is also analysed. The connection if the values of the employees to that of
the organization is also examined. Many wrong decisions were taken by the company when it
was in a confusing situation (Ken & Simon, 2013).
Twitter has been successful in maintaining its topmost position in the industry even
after many issues in its operations. The financial reports of the organization have shown huge
growth between the years 2013 to the year 2015. The increase in the users has further
increased the revenues of Twitter. Huge revenues have also been generated from
advertisements that are placed on the platform.

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STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF TWITTER
References
Babnik, K., Breznik, K., Dermol, V., & Trunk Širca, N. (2014). The mission statement:
organisational culture perspective. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 114(4),
612-627.
Mark, Ken & Parker, Simon, (2013) "Case 26: Twitter" from Ireland, R. Duane et al, The
management of strategy: concepts and cases pp.371-377, [United States]: South-
Western/Cengage Learning
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