RESEARCH IN MOTION Sincerely, A RIM Employee

A Case Analysis on

Communication Management Presentation by: Team ‘E’

INCEPTION

Global mobile communications Canadian company RIM was formed in

1984

23-year-old Mike Lazaridis, a dropout of the University of Waterloo

Douglas Fregin, an engineering student from the University of Windsor

formed RIM

Since 1992 compnay headed by Co-CEO Jim Balsillie & Mike Lazaridis

In 1988 RIM became first wireless data technology developer in North

America. Technology was mainly used for business communications, such

as processing credit-card sales.

RISING SUN

RIM is listed on the NASDAQ exchange. The company raises

another $250 million to develop its BlackBerry technology.

1999

2000 NOVEMBER

RIM raises another $950 million through a share offering.

2002 RIM upgrades the BlackBerry to include voice and data transmission.

E-mail capabilities are improved so users can access multiple e-mail

accounts.

2007 RIM announces that its BlackBerry subscriber list has passed the 10-million mark.

2007 OCTOBER

Alcatel-Lucent announces an agreement to distribute BlackBerry

smartphones in China. The news sends RIM shares up eight per cent,

making RIM the most valuable company in Canada, based on

market capitalization.

THE EYE CATCHER

RIM’s most notable product is easily a mobile device dubbed the “BlackBerry”.

This revolutionary smartphone has implemented itself into the everyday lifestyle

of millions of individuals in over 140 countries.

THE CASE CONTEXT

A smartphone was defined as a mobile phone that offers more advanced

computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary basic featured phone.

For e.g.: Apple iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia’s high-end series.

THE CASE CONTEXT

THE EMPLOYEE’S LETTER

Open letter to BlackBerry bosses: Senior RIM exec

tells all as company crumbles around him

- Jonathan S. Geller

The RIM employee structured the letter to identify a total of eight problems for Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis to address

“Leaked letter describes chaos at RIM” - Sun News

Bad quality products

Intense market competition faced by

RIM after iPhone launch in 2007

PROBLEMS

Respond to anonymous open letter

from RIM’s senior executive

published online, criticizing RIM’s

leadership

Workout on how to respond to

the claims made in BGR article

internally to employees

Problems

faced by

RIM

IMPACTS OF IDENTIFIED PROBLEMS

1 Stock Price

2 Sales & Market Share

3 Dissatisfaction among employees

4 Heavy criticism from market over

Blackberry devices -50

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Sto

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RIM

REASON AND CAUSES OF PROBLEMS

2 Leadership

• Arrow approach in decision making

• Inefficient dual CEO hierarchy

3 Lack of motivation in employees

• No accountability and employee performance

assessment

• Job security concerns among employees

1 Lack of active listening culture at workplace

• Weak internal feedback and grievance handling

mechanism

• Overconfident leadership over their past success

REASON AND CAUSES OF PROBLEMS

• Product decisions based on partner requests

/ legal advice

4 Product oriented approach rather

than market oriented

5 Absence of innovation

• No significant change in product

features that competitor product lack

Co-CEOs Balsillie & Lazaridis should:

• Analyze the reasons of not meeting market demands & lack of vision

• Call a high level meeting of all Executives

• Allow to openly express & propose action items

• Implement the Why, How, What Model

Response to Open Letter 1

RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS

• Two CEOs of RIM now inefficient

• Should step aside

• Hire a new and fresh thinking CEO

• Follow circuit approach and put forth a clear action plan

• Revive the company conditions

Organizational Structure & Leadership 2

RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS

• Reduce the number of parallel projects to maintain discipline

• Work on innovation revival with teams focused on what consumers want & Build

something new and uniquely Black Berry

• Address the challenges and opportunities deliberately

• Discontinue mocking the competitors in product design or features

• The key decision makers to use the competitors’ products & BUILD BETTER

• Spend as much money as required on developers and API specialist companies

Product Innovation Techniques 3

RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS

• Make marketing campaigns concrete

• Build good relationship with market & media

• Attract the users towards the brand

• BBM is the standpoint of RIM

• BBM to attract the corporate users.

Effective Marketing 4

RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS

• Consider laying off unproductive workers and replace them with more

energetic and fresh talent

• Emphasis on performance and innovative abilities

• Rebranding and reorganization of the RIM’s workplaces

• Reflection of positive change in the products launched

Culture & Workplace Promotion 5

RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS

To encourage employee’s feedback:

• Internal employee’s forum must be introduced and implemented

• Advantages are two fold:

• Easy communication of ideas & knowledge

• Open feedback system within organization

Employee Forum 6

RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS

• A sound employee evaluation mechanism should be initiated

• Advantages are threefold:

• Forced to work for product enhancements rather than just saving job.

• Increase in morale of employees

• Motivate employees towards innovation

Employee Evaluation Mechanism 7

RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

Analysis of communication by anonymous employee.

Correct Argument

Correct Pre-text (motive)

Correct Methodology

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

EXTERNAL

1 PURPOSE

• To respond to the letter of the

anonymous employee published in

BGR article.

2 AUDIENCE

• Consumers, shareholders and

financial analysts

3 MESSAGE

• Assurance to take into consideration the reservations raised!

• Desire to bring positive change

• Acceptance of leadership lapse and announcing young and talented CEO

• Decision to restructure and reorganize company’s internal processes in full

consent with employees.

4 MEDIUM

• Press conference

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

INTERNAL

1 PURPOSE

• To communicate internally to

answer the ensuing concerns and

mounting questions.

• To boost morale and confidence of

employees at RIM.

2 AUDIENCE

• RIM Employees

3 MESSAGE

• Join & Consult - The no longer in motion company wants to come back in motion

with your help by reviewing all the processes in place.

4 MEDIUM

• The effective procedure for grievance handling & whistle blowing –

communicated through policy manual and presentations

• Cross functional team meetings

• Employee’s performance review feedback (written / oral)

• Internal Bulletin / Newsletter

THE RIGHT START!

THE RIGHT START!

• Working in collaboration with other companies on research projects.

• Making breakthrough inventions.

• Providing unique technology directly aiming at user requirement and ease for

example through connectivity products for Mobitex wireless packet switched

data network.

• Using their capital on unique inventions like the interactive pager and

BlackBerry.

• Followed up their success on BlackBerry by further refining it with new features.

RIM started in the right manner by:

THE RIGHT START!

FAILURE TO CONSOLIDATE SUCCESS

• RIM couldn’t realize that its initial success story needed to be converted into a

policy/on going progress to survive.

• RIM lingered too much on refining its BlackBerry rather than working on

alternate products.

• Didn’t foresee or even realize the potential threat that iphone posed towards its

competitors.

• Knew how to attract users but couldn’t devise a strategy to retain them.

• Couldn’t realize that iphone was an exemplary invention and lost credibility by

releasing a faulty product (BlackBerry Playbook).

• Couldn’t figure out how to use their army of employees in the right way.

RIM couldn’t consolidate their initial success:

FAILURE TO CONSOLIDATE SUCCESS

LESSON

LESSONS LEARNED

As we look ahead into the next century,

leaders will be those who empower others.

CONCLUSION

I think if you do something and it turns out good,

then you should go and do something else wonderful,

not dwell on it for too long.

Just figure out what’s next.