Facebook Environmental Analysis Research Papers Example

Internal & External Business Environment

Internal & External Business Environment
A company’s external and internal environment is important for the successful progress and development of the company. An organization’s internal environment consists of variables that can be controlled by the management, such as development of the workforce, organizational structure, operational processes and management structure. An organization’s external environment consists of variables that cannot be controlled by the management, such as the change in consumer preferences, competitors, and the legal environment. The two companies under discussion in this paper will be Samsung and Facebook.

Facebook is considered to be the world’s most popular and viewed social media networking site. This social media network currently has 900 million monthly active users, which is equal to the third largest country in the world ahead of the United States of America. Facebook has enjoyed years of dominance in the social media network, but there are new competitors to face such as Google+ and Pinterest that have the significant capacity and capability to give Facebook a tough competition now (Shama, 2013).

Internal Business Analysis

Facebook has focused on creating competition and goals that have been able to withstand the competition and the controversies from the external business environment. These goals and values have impacted the profitability of the company and has helped them attain a stronger competitive position in the market. With the help of the above competitive environment, the company has been able to maintain its position in the social media. Facebook Inc. has been able to maintain a strong brand image which has helped the public develop brand recognition and loyalty towards the social media networking site. This has also helped the company develop a strong association between the consumer and the company itself (Shama, 2013).
On the other hand, the company has maintained a strong value chain that is two-sided – meaning the customer is the end user, as well as the supplier providing a unique presence in the market. The profitability of the company grows as their user base expands which in turn helps the unique two-sided value chain as it helps the advertisers of the company. Since MySpace has been unable to cash this unique two-sided value chain, it has been unable to succeed. Apart from this the company has been able to focus on the research and development that has helped to launch new products in the market and to keep the social media space up-to-date (Shama, 2013).

External Business Analysis

One of the most significant competitive advantage Facebook has its strong brand name and recognition that is still unachievable for the competitors to achieve. This element helps the company achieve the business operation that aids its performance in the external environment. Another integral external factor that is of utmost importance is the fasting growing e-commerce industry. This means that the company needs a well-integrated internal and external environment in order to operate properly (Eisenmann, 2006).

Samsung Environmental Analysis

Internal Business Analysis
One of the major competitive advantages to Samsung is its large distribution and selling network that the other mobile phone companies do not have in the world. The company is known for its user-friendly behavior and strong financial position due to which the company is able to invest in research and development and launch new products in the market. This helps to improve the profitability of the company. Samsung has offered a variety of products in the market that provides the customer a choice to choose from, but the price range, and the quality of the product is an issue. Some of the products launched by the company have not been user-friendly that failed in the market. The company needs to work at their service center in many countries and provide after-sale services as well (Eisenmann, 2006).

External Business Analysis

The telecommunication sector is booming that provides the opportunity for all the companies including Samsung to increase its market share with increasing the sales of the products. In order to gain this advantage, it is important that Samsung targets the right customer at the right time to maintain its position as a leading company in the telecommunication sector (Samsung, 2013).

Competitive Advantage and Strategies Each Company is Using

As discussed above that the telecommunication market is constantly booming with new technology and products launching in the market. It is important to note that in the near future, the telecommunication companies and other media technologies will merge, and this is the point where Samsung needs to capture and differentiate its strategy from its competitors. Hence, Samsung is achieving to gain differentiation strategy that is established on current strengths and help establish high-frequency technology by focusing on the customer needs. On the hand, the Facebook competitive advantage is the new face of smartphones and their main strategy is to maintain success and understand the changing needs of the customers and continuously launch new products and innovative designs that are attractive to the users and are user friendly in use (Eisenmann, 2006).

Creating Value through Business Strategy

The Samsung has been able to create value and maintain its competitive advantage through its business strategy that focuses on work teams and their capabilities that are, of course, different from Facebook. On the other hand, Facebook has been able to create value and maintain its competitive advantage through its business strategy that focuses on resources, perception of the team towards new products, change in management and company culture, working style and product achievement in the market (Shama, 2013).

Measurement Guidelines for Strategy Effectiveness

The measurement guidelines for Samsung is the effectiveness, speed and flexibility in decision-making. The main value that Samsung targets are customer satisfaction and role of stakeholders including investors, employees, etc. and understanding how the business strategies impact the business operations. The company focuses on a continuous learning process that help the employees stay up-to-date with the current technology. On the other hand, Facebook focuses upon its strategy effectiveness as the market strategy effectiveness is integral to the success of the company. The products launched by the company gives a good overview of the services offered by Facebook. The company has established many strategies to maintain customer loyalty and satisfaction (Shama, 2013).

How Effective are the Measurement Guidelines that Each Company is Using?

The measurement guidelines used by Samsung focus upon continuous learning process that provides the employees with an opportunity to stay up-to-date with current technology and focus on their skills and expertise to develop and launch new products. This also provides employees with an opportunity to choose their own time for personal development. The measurement guidelines used by Facebook have been effective as it has applied global strategies to cater to growing and dynamic markets and focus upon retaining the customer loyalty.

References

Eisenmann, T., Parker, G. & Van Alstyne, M. (2006). Strategies for two-sided markets. Harvard  Business Review, 10, pp. 92-101.
Samsung (2013) Sustainable Management, Samsung Website http://www.samsungcnt.com/EN/cnt/sm/201000/html.do
Shama Kabani (2013) The Zen of Social Media Marketing: An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz and Increase Revenue, Ben Bella books, Business and Economic.