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Unit 6 Project: Business Policy and Strategy
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Check My Assignment!Unit VI Project
Implementation Plan: Part 2
In Unit IV, you started to create an implementation plan. You selected a company and analyzed their strategy and mission. In Unit VI, we will continue your work with this company and develop a SWOT analysis.
Remember that a SWOT analysis identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of an organization. This is an important analysis for any organization as it can be used for strategic planning. Your SWOT analysis must be a minimum of two pages in length. Once you have completed your SWOT analysis, write a minimum of one page, explaining how this information could be used by the company.
Please use the template below to complete the SWOT analysis and explanation. Save the template using your last name and student ID. For example, John Smith whose student ID is 12345 would save his assignment as Smith12345. The information you need to complete this analysis can be found in the case studies located in your textbook on pages 372-636. Outside research is not a requirement.
Click here to access the Unit VI Project template.
Much of the information you will need to complete this segment can be found in the case study in the textbook. However, you are welcome to conduct further research as needed.
David, F. R., & David, F. R. (2015). Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach, concepts and cases (15th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Netgear, Inc., 2013
www.netgear.com , NTGR
Headquartered in San Jose, California, Netgear develops and markets Ethernet switches, wireless controllers, storage devices, routers, media services, and other products associated with connecting users with the Internet. All Netgear products are produced through third-party manufacturers and marketed through thousands of retailers worldwide. Netgear prides itself on developing and marketing high performance devices that are dependable and easy to operate in homes. But this “desired competitive advantage” is difficult to maintain because consumers widely believe such products are a commodity (like gasoline). For businesses, Netgear provides networking, storage, and security devices that are cheaper and easier to use than comparable products offered by rival firms. Netgear products are sold in more than 28,000 retail locations around the world and through about 42,000 resellers. Netgear has operations in 25 nations and has 850 employees, of which 352 are in sales, marketing and technical support, 251 in research and development (R&D), 128 in finance, and 119 in operations.
Netgear’s revenues for 2012 were $1.27 billion, up 7.6 percent from 2011. The company reported revenue for Q2 of 2013 of $357.7 million, up from $320.7 million the prior year when the company’s new acquisition, AirCard, was not in the numbers. Q2 2013 net income was $14.0 million, down from $21.5 million the prior year. During Q2, Netgear grew its Retail Business Unit (RBU), led by its 802.11ac upgrade cycle, as well as the rollout of the Smart Home for developed markets. The integration of the AirCard business into the company’s Service Provider Business Unit (SPBU) went well. On a year-over-year basis, Netgear’s RBU revenue was up 3 percent. The company’s strong Q2 2013 year-on-year growth for RBU in North America and Asia was offset by weakness in the European region. The company’s SPBU revenue was up 58 percent sequentially, and up 20 percent over the prior year quarter. The company’s Commercial Business Unit (CBU) revenue was up 25 percent sequentially, and up 10 percent over the prior year quarter.
Copyright by Fred David Books LLC. (Written by Forest R. David)
History
Netgear was incorporated in 1996 as a subsidiary of Bay Networks and was purchased by Nortel in 1998. The company became fully independent from Nortel in 2002 and remains independent today. Back in 1996, the Internet was in its infancy, especially high speed and wireless devices. As an industry pioneer, Netgear has kept tight inventory controls and used off-the-shelf hardware and software products from existing companies. Founder, chairman, and CEO Patrick Lo was quoted in 2004 as saying: “We do the system integration and let the contracted firms do the grunt work of designing circuit boards.” Netgear went public in 2003. Since then, the company has grown into a $1.2 billion in sales firm. In 2011, Netgear combined its North, Central, and South U.S. salesforces to form a new Americas territory as a means to increase operational efficiencies. Today, the company operates in three distinct geographic territories: (1) Americas, (2) Europe, and (3) Middle East and Asia Pacific.
To get a flavor of what Netgear develops and markets, in late 2012, the company introduced its CG4500TM Voice/Data Gateway that received the CableLabs® DOCSIS® 3.0 certification. This unit has the capability for 24 × 4-channel bonding and is the firm’s most advanced DOCSIS 3.0 Voice/Data Gateway integrating in one device. The new product allows concurrent 802.11n dual-band wireless networking that provides up to 900 Mbps (450 + 450 Mbps) aggregate speed and with simultaneous dual-band technology helps mitigate interference ensuring sustained throughput and reliable connections. With integrated MoCA, the CG4500TM Gateway enables seamless data and video distribution over the in-home coax network.
Internal Issues
Vision and Mission
Netgear’s mission statement is: “To be the innovative leader in connecting the world to the Internet,” recently changed from, “To be the preferred customer-driven provider of innovative networking solutions for small businesses and homes.” There is a statement on the company’s website that may be their vision: “Our goal is to be the leading provider of innovative networking products to the consumer, business, and service provider markets.”
Location
Netgear’s primary administrative, sales, marketing, and R&D facilities consist of 142,700 square feet in an office complex in San Jose, California, under a lease that expires in 2018. Netgear’s international headquarters comprise 10,000 square feet of office space in Cork, Ireland, under a lease that expires in 2026. Netgear’s international salespersons are based out of local sales offices or home offices in Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Netgear has operations personnel in Hong Kong, and R&D facilities in Atlanta, Chicago, Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, and Shanghai, China, and in Taipei, Taiwan.
Organizational Structure
Netgear is managed in three specific business units: (1) retail, (2) commercial, and (3) service provider. The retail business unit consists of home networking, storage, and digital media products to connect users with the Internet and their content and devices. The commercial business unit consists of relatively low-cost business networking, storage, and security solutions. The service provider business unit consists of made-to-order and retail proven, whole-home networking solutions sold to service providers for sale to their customers.
Netgear recently combined their North American, Central American, and South American sales forces to form the Americas territory. Thus, the firm is today organized into the following three geographic territories: (1) Americas, (2) Europe, Middle-East, and Africa (EMEA) and (3) Asia, Pacific (APAC).
Exhibit 1 provides a diagram of Netgear’s existing organizational structure. Note there is no Chief Operations Officer. Some analysts contend that the company is too dependent on Lo, with no other person being groomed as an eventual successor.
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