Yahoo Corporation - The Evolution of Strategy - Essay Example

Yahoo Corporation Introduction Among the global largest internet companies is Yahoo Corporation whose operations are within sixty countries with over 45 language translations for its operations. The services offered are diversified and includes e- mails services, search engine services, media streaming as well as advertising services among others. As a multinational, many millions of people across the globe generate traffic monthly within the Yahoo properties. The corporation derives strategic competencies from the display and search digital advertising capabilities through which high revenues are generated. Other means through which the corporation raises revenues is through selling wide ranges of premium services with higher competition arising from Google as well as facebook corporations, which are leaders within the industry (Clausse 4-18). Ease of entry by compotators within the industry and increased threats of substitutes represents the competitive external environment of the corporation. This therefore empowers the consumers to have higher bargaining power, which influences the general consumer behaviors in spending as well as consumption. Discussion Though the company performed excellently well in the past years especially before the technological advancement to have other global movers like the social media platforms, the company have lost great market segment to the compotators which have greatly influenced the shape of digital advertising as it is today. This caused the company loose lots of revenues but efforts are underway in reclaiming the corporation’s competitive advantage through capitalizing on the corporation’s strengths and improving on the weaknesses. The company’s SWOT analysis shows strategic opportunities and strengths that could be exploited for the improved performance while improving on the weakness and overcoming the threats (MarketLine, 4-10). SWOT analysis Strengths: In among other strategic strengths that are pointed out with the corporation is very strong business brand as well as great talent in designing and marketing of the company’s products. It has very powerful trading partners besides having commendable customer service across the nations. The e-commerce expertise as well as integration of customer services such as search engines and the photo sharing also show great strengths within the corporation. Weaknesses: the company suffers quite slow speed in innovation and launching of new products, which accounts largely to strategic strengths with the competitors. Frequent managerial changes contribute greatly to the instabilities observed with the corporation. Moreover, the competitors exploit lack of mobile strategies with the company and this lead to low profits from mobile spending market share as effectively. Finally, the corporation suffers general poor social net work as an effective tool for marketing and product awareness. Opportunities: the corporation is pointed to have great opportunities in embracing global advertising, which present great gains within the advertising industry. Internet penetration within new environments and growth in mobile spending also presents unexploited opportunities with the organization. Strategic alliances and mergers with other corporations and diversification of products are also untapped opportunities that the corporation would exploit. Finally, there are untapped opportunities within growing economies especially in e-commerce and the corporation would be strategic if it would exploit the business niche. Threats: The Google Corporation as well as emerging social media platforms like the Facebook and Twitter present the main threat in competition in advancement of the Yahoo Corporation. Moreover, the industry has little barriers to entry and thus exposing the corporation to increased pressures in competition from the new entrants. Finally, emerging trends in online insecurity especially with exposure of much consumer information threatens the corporation with hacking and loss of sensitive information. The main functional strategy that the company adopts in light with the SWOT analysis is increased flexibility (Jethwani, 1-10). Through the strategy, the company has initiated changes in hiring and recruitment procedures to target only the ‘out-of-box’ thinkers through which the great thinkers have continued to improve on the company’s functionality. Through the strategy, the company focuses on emerging and new markets, diversified products with higher marketing, which has a greater futuristic sense. The corporation has therefore been and continues to adopt the flexibility functional strategy in order to better market performance as necessitated by the trading environments within the industry. However, there is need to adopt country-specific strategies in order to improve on the flexibility strategy as different factors are at play in the different countries. For instance, cultural differences and trading environment may be very different within the countries, which would have direct effects on the effectiveness of the strategy as adopted. On the other hand, the business-level strategy adopted is the exploitation of the ‘mobile’ market in advertising as it presents great opportunities for the company. Within the very dynamic industry of advertising as the corporation operates, digital advertising is increasingly gaining stability and maturity hence the business strategy to exploit the niche. The e-commerce, video advertisements as well as mobile advertisements presents great opportunities in the industry for operators and hence the decision. There are however various issues that need to be enhanced for the business strategy to realize the intended success. For instance, the corporation should invest in strategic skills in mobile advertising and have the necessary expertise incorporated for the purpose of effectiveness. Besides, better market segmentation as well as product positioning has the capacity to steer the corporation towards realizing success in the business strategy adopted. Finally, research as well as development is critical tools for effectiveness of any business especially in line with the competitive business environment as is characteristic of technology industries. This would enable such a corporation to improve of products quality and diversification as pointed out as good way to follow. Conclusion The Yahoo Corporation works in and relies on internet services for its operation in delivering e-mails, advertisements as well as in facilitating e-commerce globally. As a multinational, the company is not shielded against effects of competition from such giant competitors as the Google corporations as well as social media operators like Facebook. The development and emergence of highly interactive web services as supported by web 2.0 have greatly revolutionized the industry with such operators as the dot com companies facing a great challenge. However, despite the increased pressures that yahoo corporation have been experiencing in the past, there are great opportunities as have been pointed in the report that could help the company regain the lost glory. Flexibility has been pointed out as a major functional strategy for the corporation while mobile advertising and diversification would show the business strategy that is currently being exploited within the corporation. Works cited Clausse, Santiago Tomas, “Yahoo! Vs. Google” 2011. Print. 17 March 2014. Jethwani Vikram, “Yahoo, the evolution of strategy” nd. slide. 17 March 2014. MarketLine, “Yahoo! Inc, company overview” 2012. Print. 17 March 2014. Read More