Changing Business Environment of Nokia Company
The only permanent thing in this world is change. Life is a process and
every aspect of it will change a way or another. Nothing will ever be the same
again because change is inevitable.
Despite thorough studying and critical analysis of an enterprise to the
market it will enter, problems and failures are still experienced from time to time.
Loopholes and gaps should be look at. But, it is important to acknowledge that
the market is never a steady place. Consumer behaviors change and
competitions get tighter. Thus, changing business environment should be a main
concern of an enterprise.
Business environment is the totality of circumstances created by external
forces that influences the behavior of the enterprise and its decisions. These
external forces include economic, social, environmental, political, and
technological factors that are beyond the control of the business. Thus, change in
business environment will also change the earlier plans for the enterprise. Drastic
change in business environment may affect adversely the enterprise because it
would be unable to adjust quickly and might result in loss of income or
bankruptcy.
It is important to acknowledge how big factor business environment is.
Analyzing the business environment identifies opportunities and may gain
advantage for the first to exploit it. Also, it may identify threats of competitors and
would have early warning plans like improving the quality of the product or being
more aggressive in advertising. Rapidly coping with the changes in the business
environment is the major key in surviving the tight competition of the market.
However, there are some stable companies that seem not to run out of fuel in
leveling its way on the top.
Nokia is the number one mobile company worldwide. An industry leader
on a global level, Nokia has strictly abides in its three main objectives: strong
customer recognition, speed of anticipation and fulfilling the evolving market
needs and positive relationship with its stakeholders. Nokia was established in
1865 as a pulp and paper mill in Finland but expanded into the rubber and cable
industries through a series of mergers. In 1975, it expanded even more into
many industries such as computers, electronics and cellphones. In 1979, Nokia
entered a joint venture with Mobria but Nokia later took over to design and
manufacture mobile phones. Since 1998, Nokia has been the mobile phone
industry leader exceeding over boundaries of continents and countries. However,
despite its being established in the market for long years, it doesn’t mean that the
company is invulnerable into threats of changing business environment.
Starting from the 2G software in the late 1990s developing into
convergence of telephony and mobile Internet of 3G, Nokia has been the top
mobile phone around the globe. It has established itself to be user-friendly and
fast-paced in innovation of products. In response to structural changes, Nokia
divided the company into four divisions: mobile phones, multimedia phones,
enterprise solutions and networks. However, the stability of Nokia has been
challenged by circumstances surrounding the company.
Despite that Nokia had been around dominating the market since then, it
is still threatened by the emerging top contenders in the mobile phone industry.
Sony Ericsson, LG, Motorola and Samsung are just some of the competitors that
try to level their way up to the industry. However, Nokia still outdo them in terms
of innovation and sales. But, not for long.
The hysteria of smart phones which offers more sophisticated features
widened the market and tightened the competition. Also, Apple Inc.’s introduction
of iPhone created a new dimension of advanced mobile phones. Touch pad
technology, Internet usage and Wi Fi became standards of the new generation of
phones. Although Nokia consistently makes it to top ten when it experts rank the
best in mobile phones, they cannot be considered as dominant today compared
in the recent years.
Moreover, the economic downturn in the late 2008 took a blow in the
mobile phone industry. Recession keeps the people in spending their tight
stipends on the very basic needs such as food, education and mortgages.
Upgrading of mobile phone seems to be a luxury and can be set aside. There is
a notable decline in the mobile phone industry.
Indeed, Nokia had successfully adapted itself in the continuous change in
the business environment. And despite the challenges of competitors and
financial crisis, it held its ground and seems not be shaken. What the company
had all this time is resilience. Resilience in all challenges however big or small it
is.
References:
Adaptability and Change in Business Environment, September 2008
We are Now in a Changing Business Environment; We are Always in a Changing Business Environment, March 2008
Amit, Gupta, Nokia – Restructuring a Giant
Lindholm, Tero, Implementing SPI: Combining business process improvement and system development at Nokia
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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