Nokia is a communications and information technology company included in the Fortune Global 500 ranking and has a rich heritage that can be traced back to the 19th century. During the 1990’s Nokia be PDF

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Nokia is a communications and information technology company included in the Fortune Global 500 ranking and has a rich heritage that can be traced back to the 19th century. During the 1990’s Nokia became the world's leading mobile phone manufacturer, but the company did not anticipate the significa...

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Nokia is a communications and information technology company included in the Fortune Global 500 ranking and has a rich heritage that can be traced back to the 19th century. During the 1990’s Nokia became the world's leading mobile phone manufacturer, but the company did not anticipate the significant change that smartphones would bring to the market at the turn of the century. When smartphones rose to popularity Nokia's market share was significantly reduced and the company entered into a crisis. Stephen Elop was appointed CEO of Nokia in 2010 and after a diagnosis of the company he addressed all the employees with an internal memo know as "Burning Platform.” Read the article: All Microsoft employees should read Stephen Elop's 'Burning Platform' memo right now. Paying particular attention to the memo portion of the article. Then respond to the following:    

Which elements related with James’ Operations Management definition do you identify within the “Burning Platform” memorandum? Which of the five steps within Hill’s framework for Operations Strategy formulation do you recognize? What internal and external factors do you observe? 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?

Nokia is a communications and information technology company. It was the world-leading phone manufacturer during the 90s and made a Fortune Global 500 ranking but then entered a crisis and slumped due to a lack of vision of the significant impact smartphones would have on the phone market. This discussion is based on an internal memo used by Stephen Elop, Nokia's CEO appointed in 2010 to address all Nokia employees entitled "Burning Platform." According to James, Operations management is a process that produces or delivers goods and services (James, 2011, p. 8). From this definition, the elements identified in the “Burning Platform” memorandum are the processes of shifting to product innovation, product production, and product delivery to consumers, which are functions of market prices and product prices. Hill's framework is one of several procedures for formulating an organization's operating strategy and consists of five steps: (1) Determining Company Goals (2) Determining marketing strategies to meet objectives, (3) Assessing how different products win orders against competitors

(4) Determine the most appropriate mode for delivering this product range (5) Provide the necessary infrastructure to support operations (James, 2011, p. 11). All five steps are highly acclaimed. Corporate goals serve as the heart and brain of the organization and without them, the organization would have no foundation and thus be short-lived. The marketing strategy itself is very important because it is an enabler for the survival of the company. After all, products and services need to be delivered strategically to end-users or consumers. Hill describes the third step is one that performs the role of the propeller in the vehicle, linking the first two steps with the fourth and fifth steps that are indispensable for continuous operation. There are internal and external factors observed from the memo from Nokia's CEO as a problem plaguing Nokia as an organization. Internal factors observed were organizational attitude which is too self-confident, insensitivity to the market, lack of accountability, lack of leadership to align and steer the company through chaotic times, and lack of innovation because of lack of internal collaboration (Edwards, 2013). External factors observed are very strong and active competitors, fast response of competitors to changes in technology and customer tastes, cheap competitor products, and decreased consumer preferences for Nokia/increased their preferences for competing products (Edwards, 2013). Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, using images and language of violence (flaming platforms, death, war) as a motivational tool is the right approach to send a message to Nokia employees that their survival is in their hands. The rapid decline in Nokia's market and share is a strong signal that the organization will cease to exist if it fails to act quickly. They decide quickly as the man on stage who burns or dies on the platform does. The advantage of this type of motivational tool is that it quickly brings the viewer back from the dream world and influences their lives to act as an arsenal. The cons are that it can make employees more depressed if they are stressed and lack confidence in the leadership of the organization. However, this approach was the best for the organization at the time and could not backfire.

References Edwards, J. (2013, September 3). All Microsoft Employees Should Read Stephen Elop's 'BurningPlatform' Memo Right Now. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-elops-burning-platformmemo-2013-9?IR=T. James, T. (2011). Operations Strategy. Bookboon.com. https://my.uopeople.edu/pluginfile.php/1403922/mod_page/content/9/BUS5116James.pdf...