Introduction

The BlackBerry Company is a name that has long been successful in the
market. However, the intense rivalry from other businesses is slowly
causing this scenario to change. More enticing and adaptable products are
being created by businesses like Nokia and Apple, which are greatly
favoured by people.
BlackBerry used to be famous. Every banker and other professional had
one of those smartphones with a keypad on the side and a small wheel or
trackball in the center. The business creates and sells products for the
Internet of Things and enterprise applications. The company's ability to
create products with an enterprise focus, like software and handsets, is
enabled by the BlackBerry brand.
Samsung and Apple defeated BlackBerry to control the smartphone
industry. In addition, BlackBerry has not done much to promote its current
goods, which has hurt the performance of its brands in the market as the
majority of potential buyers have formed uninformed negative judgments
about BlackBerry products. As a result, the company's sales, market share,
and share value have all significantly decreased. Fundamentally, the
company's errors were related to an overemphasis on enterprise over
consumer tastes and preferences, an OS for which no apps were being
developed, and phones that looked clunky and lacked the functionality
users wanted: the physical keyboard did not compensate for the lack of a
smart screen or the size of it.
In this research, the BlackBerry case is presented from a management
perspective, and different remedial measures are suggested. The report is
broken into four main sections: an overview of the company; difficulties;
solutions; and ethical considerations.
Description of the Organization

Company Overview

BlackBerry, a worldwide mobile communications business that was

founded in 1984, has over the years revolutionized the mobile market
(BlackBerry 2014a). In 1999, the business was the first to release
smartphones on the market. BlackBerry thus declared in December 2016
that it had ceased producing hardware and had partnered with the Chinese
firm TCL. In order to promote BlackBerry, the business teamed with
Optiemus Infracom in India in 2017. BlackBerry had previously declared
that on January 4, 2022, the network and operating system that were used
by its non-Android phones would be shut down. The BlackBerry 850, the
company's first pager, was introduced in 1999. In April 2000, the first
BlackBerry smartphone was released.
The Organizational Structure
Three major departments, including finance and accounts, facilities
management, and human resources and administration, make up The
BlackBerry Company's various components. The organizational chart of the
business, shown in Fig. 1, demonstrates how the CEO's office coordinates
the departments.
BlackBerry (2014b) lists the following as the duties of each position: The
co-founder and chief executive officer of the business, who is in charge of
the QNX software systems, also serves as the board's executive chair. 

While the worldwide sales office is in charge of overseeing sales at various

BlackBerry outlets across the world, the inventive engineer is in charge of
managing the product and software sectors. The long-term development
strategy for BlackBerry, in terms of both product advances and commercial
prowess, is managed by the devices and emerging solutions office. 

In terms of product development and commercial operations, the chief legal

officer is in charge of all legal matters.
The Market

BlackBerry did effectively in the market up until 2013 when its market share began to
decline, claims Moon (2013). According to the author, there were 10.5 million
Blackberry users by the time the first Apple iPhone hit the market, and there were 21
million users by the time Google and Android first made their debut.
However, as Moon notes, things altered in 2013 after big losses were suffered (2013).
BlackBerry announced to the media that it had lost $1.049 billion and was implementing
a $1 billion budget-cutting plan.

Although the management made many changes to meet the competitive hardware
environment, Moon claims that these changes had no effect as the company had a 21%
fall in the number of mobile phones exported in March 2013.
Additionally, the corporation experienced losses in the value of its shares, and the
majority of its devoted customers had left, leaving a small number of ardent supporters.
Moon (2013) blamed the quickly growing sales of Samsung and HTC android phones,
which are steadily displacing BlackBerry in the market, for the huge decline in
BlackBerry's market section.

BlackBerry's market share fell to 3% from 9% just in the US.

Competitive advantage

However, Chen (2013) identifies four elements that BlackBerry might use to its
advantage in order to outperform its rivals. First, BlackBerry has a wide range of
locations around the globe. It benefits from this because it may change its strategy and
concentrate more of its efforts in the areas where its products are performing well.

Additionally, the corporation has integrated and combined the advertising division; as a
result, it will be simple for the division to track market developments and decide where
to focus advertising efforts. Second, the corporation can utilize the market by using the
name BlackBerry as a brand.

The corporation can utilize this to sway those who care about class and style because
most people link the name BlackBerry with both.
Third, BlackBerry modified its branding approach from recycling more sophisticated
names for its handsets to focusing on less complicated names like Z10 and Q10. Such
uncomplicated names are simple to remember and can successfully compete in the
market.
The Challenge

Because of the diminished value of the BlackBerry brand, it has become extremely
important in the mobile phone sector. Despite the corporation having a strong brand
name, it has not been able to promote its products. Its inability to effectively interact with
prospective clients has hurt its brand reputation.

According to the author, if BlackBerry wants to continue dominating the market, it must
transform from a business-confronting-engineering organization to a buyer-hardware
organization with a stronger focus on providing services to regular people.

Source of the Challenge

According to the conversation so far, BlackBerry's issue is a result of its inability to

effectively advertise its brands to the market. BlackBerry has allegedly failed to provide
potential customers with basic information about its goods, claims Chen (2013).

Potential clients must rely entirely on the internet because the corporation has no
reliable information source on its gadgets. However, the information found online is
frequently spotty and exaggerated in a negative way.

Because of this, many people believe that BlackBerry phones feature outmoded and
difficult-to-use software that are best suited for wealthy, senior businessmen.
BlackBerry's extremely convoluted marketing also fail to entice potential customers.
Moon (2013) contends that commercials must be incredibly alluring and that businesses
must convince consumers that they need to buy the advertised product.

BlackBerry, on the other hand, favours using senior citizens in its advertisements over
normal-looking young people who would catch the attention of younger clients.
Challenge's Effects on the Organization and Potential Effects on Key

Stakeholders

As previously demonstrated, since 2013, fewer BlackBerry deals have been made. This
is because no new clients are being attracted to the business, and current clients are
progressively losing interest.

The company would need to reduce its employees in order to save costs as a result of
the fall in sales. This suggests that if the problem is not resolved, some employees
might lose their employment. Without a question, this will have a detrimental effect on
both the general economy and the living conditions of the workforce.
The corporation has also seen a fall in the value of its shares. It is anticipated that most
shareholders may decide to sell out and look for alternative profitable businesses to
invest in as a result of the drop in BlackBerry's share value.

As a result, if the issue is not resolved right once, the company won't have enough
money to cover its operating costs and could go out of business.

However, in the case that the business shuts down, other businesses will take over its
share of the market. The competitors will benefit from this because there would be less
competition for them in the market.

SWOT Analysis

The BlackBerry Company, according to Chen (2013), has a number of advantages.

First, the business has numerous locations around the globe, offering it broad market
reach. Second, the business already has a well-known brand name in numerous
countries.

Third, the business can always rely on its devoted clients to purchase its goods. Finally,
the business has given its phones straightforward names that are considerably simpler
to remember.

But as Moon said, the BlackBerry also has significant drawbacks (2013). Many people
around the world have a negative opinion of the firm. Many people think BlackBerry
handsets are only for the wealthy and seasoned.
In addition, BlackBerry has struggled to convey its branding to potential customers. As a
result, its reputation has been tarnished.

Despite its flaws, the business has some chances that it can take advantage of.
BlackBerry has the potential to launch a new brand onto the market, claims Chen
(2013). The business can readily use its technology capabilities to create a new brand
that can help restore its damaged reputation.

In addition, the BlackBerry brands that are still in use today are still strong. The
business only needs to re-brand itself to include additional features and attract more
customers by giving it new names and appearances.

The corporation must, however, be aware of the fierce rivalry from other mobile phone
manufacturers that consistently release new handsets with features that users like. If
BlackBerry wants to remain competitive, it must carefully address this danger.

Responding to the Challenge

Strategic Considerations and Planning

According to Grewal and Levy (2012), renaming the company's current brands is the
answer to the problem. This will entail giving the current brands a makeover so they
have a fresh appearance.

As a result, in order to make the existing devices more marketable, the enterprising
engineering department will closely collaborate with the devices and solutions section to
discover the applications that can be dropped or added. The goal should be to create a
competitive product that is both strong and appealing.

In order to protect the brands from the already existing unfavorable press, new names
will also be given to them. The international sales and marketing departments will also
need to contribute to the re branding. The new brands will need to be successfully
communicated.
How Planning and Implementation will be approached

Product enhancement will be part of the challenge's resolution after a deliberate change
approach. To paraphrase Roberts (2010), in order to improve the performance of
BlackBerry goods on the market, appropriate planning will be required for the next
course of action.

As a manager, I will see to it that sufficient preparations are made for the people and
things needed to deliver the desired option. The top management will be informed of the
need for change to begin.

Once the management acknowledges that rebranding is required, we will sit down and
discuss the planned change's goals, which will help them gauge our success. The main
objective will be to boost sales and save the company from bad press.
The management will need to exercise some sort of control in order for the solution to
be implemented successfully. For example, the facilities engineering and marketing
divisions will need to be identified and under control if BlackBerry is to regain its
reputation.

To find important figures who can be trusted to steer the transformation process, I will
collaborate with the management. Then, a strategy for managing resistance during the
change process will be devised.
A monitoring strategy will be crucial in determining whether the organization is
accomplishing its change objectives. To guarantee that the finished product satisfies the
needs of the consumer, it will also be necessary to prepare for the necessary product
improvements.

The identified change leaders will be in responsibility of organizing the pertinent

departments to deliver the re-branded items to the market in a fashion that would aid
the company in regaining market share once the essential planning has been
completed.

Required Changes to the Organizational Structure

The organizational structure will need to undergo significant modifications in order to

address the BlackBerry dilemma. To ensure a balanced distribution of workers across
all divisions, the company's staffing issues will need to be restructured.

The facility engineering and marketing portions will be of particular interest because
they have a stronger impact on the market performance of the BlackBerry brand. I'll
think about creating new departments for devices and emerging solutions as well as the
enterprising engineer.
Measuring Progress

According to what has been said thus far, BlackBerry's issue is a reduction in sales as a
result of bad press. Re-branding and aggressive marketing are the answers to the
issue.

Therefore, market performance of the BlackBerry goods as well as shifts in people's

opinions of the BlackBerry and its products serve as the greatest metrics to utilize when
assessing progress in tackling this challenge. In order to closely monitor the trend, I will
compile information on the sales of BlackBerry products and conduct quarterly
evaluations.
If the transition is proceeding successfully, the brands that are introduced to the market
ought to draw more customers, and sales ought to show an upward trend. However, if
the sales show a downward trend, it will be clear that the change is not being executed
correctly, necessitating a review of the process in order to fix the issues.
Close observation of the company's share price will also give some indication of how far
along the problem-solving process is. If the share price increases, it will suggest that the
business is doing better on the market and luring more investors, which is a sign that
the issue is being resolved successfully.

Conducting regular market surveys to measure customers' impressions of BlackBerry

can be a helpful progress indicator in terms of influencing potential customers'
perceptions of the firm.

As an alternative, a comments section could be added to the corporate website where

customers may voice their opinions regarding the brand and its goods. Analyzing the
comments' content will help you determine whether the bad press is getting worse.
Ethical Issues in Solving the Problem

Organizations create value statements that, regardless of the issue at hand, must be
adhered to. Two ideals that must be upheld to the letter are creativity and perfection.
BlackBerry will have to make sure that the business stays creative and promotes
excellence.

Because of this, it would be immoral for BlackBerry to duplicate what its rivals are
marketing. In order to address the issue, management must also be reminded of their
moral obligations and convinced that ignoring the business is immoral.

Additionally, the business must to behave fairly with its customers. Delivering top-notch
goods to the market is typically how this is done. Only acting morally would require
BlackBerry to consistently create
Conclusion

All things considered, the BlackBerry has a problem that must be resolved for it to
reclaim its former greatness. The business has an issue with its marketing approach
because it hasn't gone far enough to tell potential clients in a sufficient and pertinent
manner about its items.

The company thus received negative press, which had a negative impact on its market
performance. Re-branding and the creation of a new marketing plan are therefore the
best ways to address this issue, although doing so will necessitate some significant
adjustments and close observation.
Recommendations

After carefully examining BlackBerry's issue, I offer the following suggestions for a
solution: The business must first revamp its advertising strategy. It can take a page from
its rivals and create commercials that will encourage more people to buy its goods.

Additionally, marketing should put a strong emphasis on educating consumers about

BlackBerry goods. Customers will receive accurate information to evaluate BlackBerry
products as a result. The organization also needs to revamp its management.

Any business must have effective management to be successful. Consequently, those

in administration who are idly watching while the business implodes need to be fired
and replaced with fresh, young hires who can recognize and fulfill client desires.

Finally, the business should think about creating gadgets that are easier to use. The
most latest software available for other firms' hardware should be the main focus. The
devices created ought to be given catchy names that are simple to recall.

References

BlackBerry, 2014a, Company information. Web.

BlackBerry, 2014b, BlackBerry executive team. Web.
Chen, R, 2013, How BlackBerry is fixing its once broken brand. Web.
Challenges blackberry faced, https://briomobile.com/papers/2010/a5-oliver.pdf
Grewal, D & Levy, M, 2013, Marketing (3rd ed.), McGraw Hill, Irwi, https://www.re-
1.cz/sites/default/files/webform/m-marketing-dhruv-grewal-michael-levy-22aae14.pdf
Moon, B, 2013, A brief history of research in motion, Investroplace. Web.
NASDAQ, 2014, BlackBerry limited institutional ownership. Web.
https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/bb/institutional-holdings
Roberts, C. (2013). Five functions of Management & Leading. Executive Coaching,
Leadership Development, Immersive & VR Workshops, Culture, 57-64. •
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/five-functionsmanagement-leading-56418.html
https://ivypanda.com/essays/blackberry-management-perspectives/