Blackberry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Blackberry - Essay Example The reports will conclude with specific approaches for specific managerial problems providing clarity to the reader. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Discussion & Analysis 9 Managerial Decision Making 9 Conclusion 19 Recommendations 21 References 28 Introduction Blackberry is a popular handset device manufactured by the Research in Motion (RIM) headquartered in Waterloo. RIM had revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the Blackberry handset in the year 1999 (Blackberry, 2013a).The launch of Blackberry products and services had changed the lifestyle and perception of the customers. The Blackberry handsets are multifunctional, offering services like capturing videos, games, music application, web browsing, emailing and other miscellaneous functions. The USP of the handset is that it offers instant messaging options to customers while maintaining a high level of security through message encryption and also serves the purpose of a multi digital functional assista nt. Recently, the company launched a tablet named The Blackberry Playbook (Blackberry, 2013b). The handset devices offer services like Enterprise Mobile Computing and Enterprise Mobility Management which enables the customers to utilize advanced technology and solve their problems. The blackberry technical services support system extends technical services and guidance to customers having problem in using the handset. The company’s stock is listed in NASDAQ and BBRY and the group is currently led by Mr. Thorsten Heins. The report highlights the various challenges faced by the management of Blackberry and the root cause of the problems. The author of the report will also provide remedial solutions which could have prevented the matter from aggravating further. The company has been facing severe technological, managerial and human resource challenges which will be highlighted in the report. The report will also highlight the various causes which led to downfall of the company a nd reduction in the market share. Finally, the report will conclude with suggestions that can help improve the existing strategic position of Blackberry. Background of the Problem The company’s popularity soared with the introduction of the Blackberry Pager and the Blackberry Pearl 8100. The pager become one of the most popular mobile handsets of and had attracted several customers. The CEO of Verizon communications was one of the first business enterprises had ordered RIM interactive pagers worth $70 million. The Blackberry Pearl phone was a unique phone which offered services like instant messaging, excellent camera features, smooth touch interface and other strong multimedia capabilities. The introduction of Blackberry Pearl 8100 was largely influenced by the emergence of Apple iPhone. Initially, the management of Blackberry did not consider the emergence of Apple iPhone as a threat due to its immense popularity however with the increase in the sales of Apple iPhone the ma nagement of Blackberry started considering Apple as serious threat. The sudden emergence of Apple in the mobile phone industry prompted the management of Blackberry to develop advanced phones like Blackberry Storm. Blackberry Storm was the first touch screen phone developed by Blackberry to attract potential customers. Blackberry had become a majority revenue contributor for RIM. However, the sales of the company started declining and the