Alternatives

Do Nothing:

• If RIM does nothing, they run the risk of falling behind other companies in their R&D.
• The reporxt is all based around why we should do something, in order to keep RIM competitive

Expand in Waterloo:

• It is part of Canada’s technology triangle, which is an ideal place for a business.
• The principle R&D is already being done in Waterloo, expanding here means that it would all remain in one place.
• They already have extensive co-op and internship programs with the University of Waterloo
• Other competitors are also coming to the University of Waterloo to look for their employees, so the talent pool is getting smaller, and it’s becoming harder to get employees.
• It may be hard to do a full expansion in Waterloo since it would be so difficult to find the required number of employees.
• Since space is getting sparse in their current location, they would require more office space in Waterloo.

Expand in Cleveland, Ohio:

• There are a number of top engineering Universities and Institutes in surrounding states.
• A building would have to be leased, or built.
• List some of the associated costs involved. (qualitative)
• Employees from the Waterloo office will need to be relocated here, so that they can help with the training and set up.
• Meets the criteria that there are other software/hardware companies in the area. (Criteria that RIM has used in the past.

Expand in Birmingham, United Kingdom:

• There are a number of top engineering Universities within United Kingdom.
• RIM’s UK head office is just outside of Birmingham.
• Training could possibly be started here, while the building is under construction/being set up.
• Birmingham is not relatively far from surrounding cities.
• A building would have to b leased, or built.
• List some of the associated costs involved.
• Employees from the Waterloo office will need to be relocated here, so that they can help with the training and set up.
• Meets the criteria that there are other software/hardware companies in the area. (Criteria that RIM has used in the past)

Also Joel, I will be emailing you later today with everyone's sections.

-Danielle

What I'm Up Too Today/Basic outline of strat/structure writeup

outline update:

i've adjusted my outline considerable since we talked to jo-anne on tuesday because we are providing this information to the shareholders and not some member of the public or the class. I am focusing on key aspects of how the companies strategy and structure impact each other and also how they have shaped the company as this company is clearly derrived from a focus on r&D and delivering the best product, and also how this core product has changed slightly as more people adapt to rim products for a more casual manner now as well as for business solutions as they did previously:

heres my original outline, i should have an almost finished writeup tonight depending on how work is today (im here till 9:30 and my boss is over my shoulder most of the day for some reason!)

Strategy:

§  Functional level strategy

o   Emergent and functional level strategies

o   Mission Statement (developed from past 3 years annual reports

o   Highlight strategies that have been used in the past two build on strengths and correct weaknesses

§  Organizational structure

o   Company based on r&d

§  Value chain

§  Primary activities drive support activates and therefore company infrastructure

§  Primary activities based on r&d are also based locationally (not a real word) which correlates to waterloo location

o   Promotes and Leads to competitive advantage

§  Superior innovation. *and 92 value creation cycle derives location and demand and all other infrastructure/hr etc

I will also start to create a write-up for the knowledge based sharing system and aim to write up a part for co-op programs (international) and also for university/college blackberry program whcih we can then collaborate on to make how we like it and tie it into the college program recommendations

you can email me on joelpmclean@gmail.com or joel.mclean@cogeco.com (work email works faster for me to get it) if you want to chat today :)

presentation date

anyone know which date we got?

Joel's Meanderings:

Sorry its late

I think I misunderstood what was going on, my mistake.

 

I see doing nothing and staying in waterloo as pretty much the same thing. I also see a few things that we I think agree will be recommended regardless of which one we go with eg:

·         Increase r&d spending as a percentage of sales/income (I think greg with your knowledge of their financials you probably have a good ratio we can recommend them to say within based on your industry and historical findings)

·         Create new relationships with high tech universities around the us and Canada and also worldwide (we can utilize the university rankings ot develop a list of best choices)

o   This would include providing co-op’s (even overseas e.g if we went with uk recommendation we could set up co-op from Netherlands (the dutch tend to have strong knowledge of English which is a strong positive)

o   Provide students and facility with complementary services/phones (discounted data plans through major networks would be pretty simple one would imagine)

·         Create knowledge sharing network (reward based) which could in turn be data mined to create an expansive knowledge base for employees

1) Do nothing (jus the bits I wrote about above)

2) UK Expansion:

·         Continuing the UK think I would like the Birmingham idea as it also would encounter Manchester and pretty much anywhere else in the uk or Scotland due to its location (England isn’t that big of a place really! Its I think a quarter of the size of Ontario or something ridiculous)

·         Gateway to Europe [open market]

·         Co-Ops (international could attract from us/Canada and vice versa as no language barrier and little immigration barriers when is in regards to employment)

3) US Expansion:

NY seems a good idea, however it might prove expensive, could look at existing areas and work closely with universities/colleges to encourage students to move there… create a new waterloo of sorts.

Update...

Hey Joel,

I was just wondering how your alternatives and outline is coming along...just so we can agree and each start working on our rough copy.

Thanks

Greg

My List of Alternatives

Hi guys,

Here is what I came up with as alternatives:

• Doing nothing (I know this is not the answer…but should mention it briefly)

• Staying in Waterloo
• For obvious reasons

• Staying Within North America: New York
• They have office in New York currently
• Cornell university is located relatively close enough to new york

** The other place I was thinking was in California…there were a lot of top ranked university’s, however none really close to RIM’s LA location. **

• Going International: United Kingdom
• They have a head office in Slough
• They have an office in Birmingham
• Birmingham has a university in top 100

** The other place I was thinking of was the Netherlands…they have an office in but I don’t know where exactly. Netherlands has two universities in the top 100 to ranked (17^th, 49^th). **

If we can all decided on which ones to use for North American and International....then we can start writing up our sections regarding these alternatives and then ultimately picking the best alternative for our recommendation.

Recommendations

I've been doing more research into Knowledge Sharing and its impacts on organizations and its a HUGE issue. Im wading through pages and pages and pages of stuff right now but its pretty fascinating and it would work with whichever direction we adapt. I think it could quite possibly be much more meaningful for the company than the location we even pick.

SIEMENS have had a knowledge management system like this for many years and i have a number of other examples including HP and others who see it as a key area of their company and it itself becomes a driver and massive system of knowledge which can be mined for information, you could even use it to create some kind of mini WIKI as afterall wikipedia is just a knowledge sharing system in the simplist use of the technology.

I'll work on some kind of write up about it over the weekend buit i think it is probably a much bigger issue than where to locate (when we break down 4 similar locations, im not saying if you go to the place where there is no staff its gonna work we know it wont but this is a massive issue that many worldwide companies are now utilizing)

LEt me know what you think

I'd love to spend part of the presentation pitching it to be board, its an enormous tool that RIM has the infrastructure and compencies to set up quickly and operate efficently.


Joel






Heres some info from one source i just saw on the SIEMENS website:


Siemens Makes Knowledge Management Hall of Fame One of twelve enterprises to be named to one of the world`s "top 10" listSiemens has been named one of the world`s top 10 Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises--an award that recognizes world-class efforts in managing knowledge that lead to superior performance. The award is based on the fourth Annual Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) study, conducted by Teleos, an independent knowledge management research company, in association with The KNOW Network. One of 12 select enterprises named to the MAKE Hall of Fame, Siemens was honored with a top ranking in the "Ability to Develop and Deliver Knowledge- Based Goods/Services" performance dimension, according to Teleos. Ranked 17th overall in 2000, Siemens climbed to seventh in the 2001 study. To select the MAKE finalists, senior executives at Fortune Global 500 companies and a panel of chief knowledge officers and leading knowledge management practitioners were asked to nominate companies and rank them against eight key drivers of outstanding performance. These eight knowledge performance categories reflect a company`s:
· success in establishing an enterprise Knowledge Culture
· top management support for managing knowledge
· ability to develop and deliver knowledge-based goods/services
· success in maximizing the value of the enterprise`s intellectual capital
· effectiveness in creating an environment of knowledge of sharing
· success in establishing a culture of continuous learning
· effectiveness of managing customer knowledge to increase loyalty/value
· ability to manage knowledge to generate shareholder value "Siemens is the only German company to have ranked in the top 20 in each of the last four years," said Guenther Klementz, Siemens Knowledge Officer. "The jump from 17 to seven reflects the enormous efforts the company is making to create and share knowledge on a global basis. "Today, Siemens boasts both a Corporate Knowledge Management organization and more than 150 knowledge management projects worldwide," Klementz said. "Siemens` ShareNet - linking 13,000 telecommunications sales and marketing experts in more than 80 countries - is the most notable of these projects. "CEO Dr. Heinrich von Pierer is convinced that one of Siemens` top priorities is to increase efficiency and customer value by electronically networking and managing company knowledge," Klementz added. "The ultimate goal is to enable all Siemens employees to access the company`s unequaled pool of knowledge." The Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises study is administered annually by Teleos, an independent knowledge management research company. The KNOW is a group of leading knowledge-based organizations dedicated to benchmarking and sharing best knowledge practices leading to superior business performance.

Alternatives?? alternatives

New Location Criteria (RIM has used before):
· The city/region has to already have a pool of talent that houses a mature skill set.
o City/region has existing base of software or hardware companies.
· City/region has to have universities with strong technical programs.
o RIM can expand co-op programs and graduate recruitment initiatives.

Issue:
· Issue of how to transfer RIM’s young and dynamic corporate culture to these locations.

Alternatives:

Expand within North America New York, USA

Prons
1. Surrounding by top universities There is one university in New York listed in the top 25 of top 100 list of the top university engineering faculty.
2. World capital, rich talent pool
3. Sophisticate technical infrastructure
4. Top engineer and up to date mindset
5. Easier to control:
a. Similar cultural background with RIM Headquarter
b. New York is in the same time zone with Waterloo.
6. Listed as one of top 7 IT communities of 2008

Cons
1. Neglect local culture impact – surging subscriber area such as china, India
2. High salary expenses
3. High cost – rent, house, transportation
4. Existing 5 US locations- self competition

Expand Internationally [Outside of North America] United Kingdom

Prons
1. Sophisticate technical infrastructure
2. Multi-cultural area – France, German, Italy
3. Listed as one of the top 7 IT communities of 2008
4. Has 3 universities listed in the top 25 of the list of the top university engineering faculty

Cons
1. Harder to control:
a. different cultural background with RIM Headquarter
b. UK is not in the same time zone with Waterloo.

NEED TO CHECK TO SEE IF THERE ARE OTHER SOFTWARE/HARDWARE COMPANIES IN UNITED KINGDOM [if we are using the requirements that RIM has used in the past].

Expand within Waterloo

Prons
1. Existing resources
a. Universities
b. Government support
2. Listed as one of the top 7 IT communities of 2007
3. Multi-cultural country
4. Nice living environment
5. Loss immigration policy

Cons
1. Space scarce
2. Limited creativity

RIM in the news today: might help with HR issues

RIM: We record all employee phone calls
Wed Mar 4, 2009 11:49AM EST
See Comments (5)
y_tech: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/127824
Buzz up!on Yahoo!
Kind of creepy news trickling out of Research in Motion, the company that makes the phenomenally successful Blackberry. In an interview with ZDNet, the company's CIO, Robin Bienfait, said that RIM records, well, pretty much everything you do within its walls, including your personal phone calls.
Specifically, "all actions carried out on RIM's internal network" are logged, which means emails, web browsing, and phone calls, all recorded for posterity. "I record everything," said Bienfait, putting it bluntly.
Many office workers are accustomed to IT oversight of their computer habits -- email is backed up for legal and data security purposes (though it's rarely ever read) and many companies restrict employees from visiting certain websites -- not just gambling/gaming/porn but also career and sometimes even "gossip" sites. But recording every phone call? Even for die-hard "employer rights" advocates, that's a tough one to swallow.
Naturally Bienfait is concerned about leaks, as the company, like most of the current-era tech world, jealously guards the details about its upcoming product line. Should word get out about what RIM is working on, untold amounts of damage could be rained down on the company. Why, just imagine how many people would be knocking off the BlackBerry Storm and its mega-button design had they gotten wind of it in advance...
For the most part, employees seem to accept the Big Brother treatment, but things get dicey when employees have to deal with personal issues on work time -- say, a divorce proceeding or medical conversations -- things which they'd probably rather not have recorded permanently by Bienfait's crew. Her advice: Bring in a cell phone and take the call there instead.
Just don't do it on your corporate BlackBerry. Those are of course monitored too.

Hey people,

watch this clip, i don't know if it is offical or what, but its sure funny,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9uBC4PH3oE

From Wallstrip

l0lz

Chak

Hey guys

im feelin a little out of the loop this week, not by any of your own faults its just been a hellish week unfortunately.

I've been working at strategy info but it seems to just play into the parts that everyone else is working on so if someone wants me to work with them on their info let me know.

I've been doing a bit of planning for the actual write-ups for the SWOT and if it works with you all i'll put that all together this weekend (after we finalise what we want to be included)

I have also been looking at a broader look of the company just for some good terms and ideas to bring into the writeup such as The Value Chain (how primary activities starting at R&D drive the production and in turn marketing and sales) and also things like Competitive Advantage and trying to find info on the impact of new models on older model sales but dont have much on that one (if anyone does let me know)

I am working on something in regards to Drivers of PRofitability (ROIC) also so we can use that as aprt of recommendation should we suggest that the R&D spending be increased to a prefered *(yet maintainable) level.

Anyways let me know if you need me to swich mindsets for something, ive finalyl got a few days off this weekend so i can get some real quality time in "case-mode"

Joel

p.s. can you get email updates of posting? HAvent used blogger for so long i cant remember and its hard to get round my firewall at work to post.

RIM SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS

• To date R&D and engineering has been the core of RIM’s success
• R&D was continually delivering award winning products
• R&D operations are spread out as far as number and location of employees
• RIM’s cryptographic and software source code has built a strong reputation
• Strong corporate culture has made people happy and resulted in low turnover
• Recruiting the best and brightest talent from the University of Waterloo

WEAKNESSES

• R&D spending has dropped significantly as a percentage of sales
• The core work is still occurring solely at the Waterloo headquarters
• Historical growth strategy: sourcing local talent and making selective acquisitions
• Talent and space are getting scarce in the Waterloo region
• RIM’s career site doesn’t allow for applicants to be processed for different jobs
• An internal resistance to any R&D locations outside the Waterloo area
• Only room from vertical integration because of privacy concerns with coding

OPPORTUNITIES

• Industry is experiencing explosive growth
• A good indicator of revenue growth is R&D spending as a percentage of sales
• Recruiting to students from other Universities across Canada
• Grow the R&D team through existing locations
• Bring in resources through acquisitions of troubled companies
• There would be more R&D sources
• There may be an expansion in a strategic market
• Expand operations globally where some business operation already occur

THREATS

• The industry is driven by engineering innovation and technological advances
• Various companies with their software platforms
• Industry experiencing explosive growth and increased competition
• Apple with the iphone pursuing North America business segment
• Growing demand for qualified engineers to deliver for customers and investors
• The was limited talent left in the Waterloo area for hiring
• Attracting talent outside Waterloo was hard as competitors are also hiring
• Hiring new graduates from various school in Canada
• Hiring/creating international jobs for employees across the world

Question

Hi Everyone,

I was asked by another group if we would be able to switch slots for meeting with Jo-Anne next week.
The only issue I can see is that they see Jo-Anne on Thursdays, and Joel said that he had already booked Tuesdays off at work.
Just respond and let me if the change is possible or not. No worries if it doesn't work.

Thanks,
Danielle

SWOT Analysis

Strengths:

• Continually delivering award-winning products.
• Products that attract the attention of both consumers and business professionals.
• Accumulated a wide range of product design and innovation awards.
• Top 10 Products of the Past 40 Years.
• One of the only trusted phones for the business-class mobile e-mail.
• Source code is one of their few technical assets which is highly protected and is a key role in the success of the company.
• Company culture has contributed towards a lower turnover rate compared to larger companies, and more happy employees.
• CO-OP program with the University of Waterloo.
  

Weaknesses:

• Running out of space to expand R&D department.
• Remaining centered in Waterloo is what made them able to have the type of company culture that they do.
• Current culture may not necessarily be maintained if there is an expansion outside of Waterloo, and they no longer have full control.
• Limited amount of physical space at RIM’s Waterloo campus. [Is this a weakness or threat?]

Opportunities:

• R&D talent is getting increasingly sparse.
• Economic situation: many smaller firms and technology start ups are struggling financially.
• Analysts predict an immense opportunity for smart phones starting in 2008-2009, which shipments reaching the billions by 2012.
  

Threats:

• Explosive growth and increased competition on the R&D team to develop new solutions in the global smartphone market place.
• In 2007 Symbian’s operating system designed for mobile devices held an estimated 65% worldwide share of the converged devices, shipping 77.3 smartphones in 2007, while RIM Blackberry OS at 11%
• RIM led in North America with 42% of shipments.
• Apple announced that it would be pursuing the business segment, as Microsoft and Google were also both trying.
• Competition for employees is very competitive in the global software development industry.
• Current employees being threatened by products being build elsewhere, afraid to lose control.
• Key competitors have already expanded globally.
• Source code loss, software piracy, product imitations are more common in developing countries where IP protection laws (or enforcement) lagged the United States or Canada.

Legal + SWOT

Hi Everyone,

I think that finding the information for the legal section is going to be a little tricky but regardless I am working on it.
From class discussion on this case the main idea for legal was regarding the source code (privacy laws, foreign/national policies). Other than that there was not much else discussed in class.

With that said, I was wondering from Chakman which countries he was looking at for locating another R&D facility. This way I can find information about the privacy laws for these specific countries.

Greg thought maybe I could see if there would be any sort of legal issues in trying to get more connections with other universities in order to set up programs for graduate students.

I was just wondering if anyone else had any other ideas, so that I am not only writing about this source code.

As for the SWOT analysis which we said we would work on over the reading week. I was thinking maybe if everyone could send it to me (or just post on here) by Monday morning, I could collaborate it together and then Tuesday we can go over it and decide which items we want to keep in the SWOT for the final report/presentation.

Let me know if does/doesn't work for everyone.

Thanks,
Danielle

Finance and Marketing Section

Hey guys,

Here is what I will be doing for my part...I have already gotten a good start as far as research...let me know if there is anything I should add or delete from my list of points under Financial and Marketing.

FINANCIAL

• Compare the R&D spent to Sales Revenue
• Compare the percentage to who had the highest sales revenue (any trends)
• Should RIM expand R&D spending

• Have different forecasts income statements…depending on certain situations
• Expanding internationally, etc…

• Look at the current economic times and how it will affect sales/expenses

• Look at forecasts (sales, growth of industry) – need to have a long term fix

MARKETING

• How can RIM market themselves to potential employees
• The top talent that there is today

• How can RIM market themselves to potential communities where they’ll locate to (waiting for Jo-Anne to e-mail me back)
  

• Look at Porter’s five forces (issues RIM may have)