MGMT

Apple’s Strategies for Building and Organizational Structure and Managing Internal Operations

Kholoud Alzhrani

Crafting and Executing Strategy

Date:16/11/2020

INTRODUCTION

Over the years, Facebook has been known as the number one company for employee satisfaction, due to their unconventional methods of management and retaining their employees. This paper seeks to explore the various strategies applied by the Facebook management team to ensure they maintain their status quo through their management tools and techniques.

CHAPTER 10: BUILDING AN ORGANIZATION CAPABLE OF GOOD STRATEGY EXECUTION.

Lo 1: What managers must do to execute strategy successfully

I.What makes companies such as Facebook capable of attracting, keeping, and managing top talent pool in their management team and employees are indeed very intuitive. Facebook has broken away from decades-long standards of impressing talent with the about section of the company or inciting with incentives because they have endless options. Instead, Facebook embraces a "bespoke approach” and tailor their approach to retain, attract and manager their staff with inspiration and ingenuity who in turn have an environment where they are innovative and capable of executing Facebook strategy. However, it is essential to note that Facebook management team thrives on allowing their employees the freedom and flexibility to complete their task when and where they feel most comfortable. The most crucial aspect for the Facebook managers is the results and less of the procedure granted this is unorthodox for a company to allow such flexibility to employees. However, Facebook has struck a balance where environment thrives for all, and the goals, objectives and strategies of the company are still met.

II. Facebook essential resources are capital, technology innovations and most importantly, their 1.2 billion users. Facebook's strong financial position is also a vital source of the brand's competitive advantage, enabling it to invest more in research and growth, in addition to marketing and sales. To make constant changes to its different products to make them more engaging, the organization places a strong emphasis on research and development. Through this, they can maintain their status as trendsetters in the social media space, through the development of new trends, they can attract new users to the site. Furthermore, Facebook is able to generate a huge chunk of their revenue through digital advertising; Facebook is an attractive avenue for marketers to market their goods because of its extensive user database. The user experience is significant for Facebook attractiveness. Thus a lot of time and effort is placed in researched new technological ways to make the company more innovative while ensuring that they don't compromise on the user experience.

III. Indeed, Facebook is one of the leading and innovative technology company. However, the company has also been known for its particular emphasis on human resource management and corporate culture since its earliest days. The company also uses a wide variety of non-financial initiatives, to enhance greater employee engagement, improve retention rates and recruit talented individuals to the organization. Often Facebook doesn't establish lines of authority; instead, they encourage their employees to have open relationships where they can communicate freely without having to go through a hierarchy of people to reach the top management. Facebook's progressive HR management has contributed to greater employee satisfaction and employee engagement, which are both perfect for driving better results and greater employee productivity.

LO 2: Why hiring, training, and retaining the right people constitute a key component of the strategy execution process.

I. It is well known that regardless of how well your organization started, you will need a management team to make sure it continues to go in that direction. A good management team will make sure the company's success is maintained and continues for the long run. If a company is to outlive the owner, a very proactive and efficient management team must be able to demonstrate the ability to plan for the company's performance and sustainability. Facebook is no different than any other company, through its management team Facebook has been able to maintain its strategic plan. Also, to have a good management team, Facebook prides itself of generating innovative ideas through the brainstorming sessions that are backed by a team. For example, the genesis of the like button synonymous with Facebook is from a brainstorming session amongst the managerial team. Lastly, the Facebook management team have been credited with resolving operational conflicts, and thus problems are quickly addressed and overcome.

II. Staffing is a function of management that involves recruiting, inspiring, and retaining the absolute best people to achieve the goals of an organization. It is the job of getting the right individuals and maintaining them. Facebook is well known for fostering a culture of risk-taking and trying out new innovative software's amongst their to ensure that they are continually evolving. While some might view this as a risk for the company, Facebook nurtures its employees and encourages them to explore their ideas. It is important to note that unlike any other industry, social media thrives of ingenuity. Thus employees need to be inspired to fully explore their creativity, albeit for the benefit of the organizations. Moreover, The recruiting process readily represents the ideals and significantly contributes to Facebook's corporate culture. Any recruit has to fulfil the requirements set by the core values of the company. Ensuring that each new employee ultimately recognizes the company's priorities and direction.

III. Facebook is known for its employee-friendly working atmosphere; much of the advantages and benefits of working in one of the world's largest organizations are unmatched. In 2019, according to Ladders, Facebook employees received an average salary of $138,118. Software engineer, data scientist, product marketing manager, and technical program manager were among the highest-paying posts. In 2019, Ladders notes, product marketing managers received an average salary of $173,333.Furthermore, Facebook employees have the perks of having excellent health insurance, maternity and paternity leave that is admirable. The efforts put in place by Facebook are to merely ensure that the company offers its employees an opportunity to grow while working for the organization. Moreover, the Facebook package is both attractive and lucrative to any employee, which in turn allows them to recruit prospective employees from the top tier.

CHAPTER 11: MANAGING INTERNAL OPERATIONS

LO1: Why resource allocation should always be based on strategic priorities

I. Large organizations such as Facebook deal with multiple projects. Therefore cost-effective resource allocation allows project managers to assign and efficiently handle project resources. For example, if Facebook is working on a project to increase security for its users, they will need resources for the undertaking of the research. However, the other projects already being undertaking shouldn't be halt; instead, they should all work concurrently. For that to happen, resource allocation should be efficiently handled to ensure that the projects being award resources are those that align with the strategic priorities of the organization. For Facebook distribution of resources is dealt with correctly. Thus they can undertake one project or ten projects, and still manage them with no inconvenience.

II. Facebook utilizes the efficient distribution of resources that leads to no money lost. As early mentioned Facebook recruits and maintained their employees by allowing them to have a flexible environment that will enable them to explore their strengths and weakness. Employees are a part of the company resources by allowing their employees to be flexible. Facebook can maximize their strength by allocation projects that need their expertise. The process has proven to be successful because of the innovative ideas Facebook showcases. Similarly, when Facebook employees complete a task or assignment before the deadline without sacrificing the quality because of the expertise in the area, then it will undoubtedly increase the competitiveness of within the company. Also, the proper distribution of resources allows you to Facebook to know who is overwhelmed at the moment and who is free so that they can delegate tasks without a lot of workload to an available resource.

III. One of the key strategic priorities is to ensure that their employees have high morale because they firmly believe in a high turnover when the employees are happy and content at their workplace. Through resource allocation, Facebook managers can know which employee is lagging and ultimately find out if there is a preexisting condition contribution to the lagging. Furthermore, through resource allocation, Facebook is able to boost the morale of the employees by encouraging those who are working extra hard, while ensuring those who are lagging a chance to improve on themselves. I believe that through resource allocation, it is easy for management to keep track of their employees, ensuring that they can effectively sustain employees morale by acknowledging their strengths.

LO 2: How best practices and process management tools drive continuous improvement in the performance of value chain activities and promote superior strategy.

I. One of the essential management tools that Facebook applies is an open floor plan to encourage collaboration among its employees. It is not an oddity to find everyone at the Facebook offices having a simple standing desk (for its health advantages) rather than offices or cubicles. Such open floor plans increase sharing and cooperation, and without barriers between employees, when they have a problem or a success, one can easily see and hear a dozen coworkers. Since the corporate message is one of transparency, at most business headquarters, you won't see a lot of closed doors or hold out signs as you do. The main campus has a striped two-lane "path" running down the centre of the entire length of the campus, and it facilitates contact between "distant" teams at various ends of the campus because there are free bikes located everywhere.

II., Facebook is unofficially known to emphasize avoiding scheduled meetings on Wednesday. This uninterrupted mid-week meeting day means that programmers and software developers can have at least one full day of uninterrupted time to work on their projects. Programmers need to be free of interruptions because a single interruption such as a meeting may take a whole or half-day to get back into the flow of their work. To incorporate versatility, when they need it to most of the other employees use Wednesday as a work-at-home day. The practice of no meeting Wednesday has yielded great results for Facebook and continues to allow them to propagate their idea of less convention in their workplace.

III. Ensuring that Facebook workers have no reason to leave the campus. Not only makes it impossible for them to run into recruiters from other companies, but it also saves them "no-value" commuting time that would be spent waiting in traffic on busy Silicon Valley streets. Facebook employees enjoy free laundry facilities, haircuts, and dry cleaning for wash-and-fold. There is also a doctor's office on-site an acupuncturist, and a chiropractor, so there is no need for personal services to leave campus, and many remain longer because they have few private orders to run after work. Such practices show how Facebook cares for their employees by ensuring that they aren't distracted and also have amenities for them to relax when they feel overwhelmed.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Facebook Company has mastered the art of ensuring that they have employee satisfaction and implement managerial tools that seek to enhance the productivity of the organization.

REFERENCE

Ladders. (n.d). Highest Paying Job Search - For Professional Careers Only - $100K+ Jobs Hiring Now | Ladders $100K+ Club. https://www.theladders.com/

Pratap, A. (2020, April 18). Facebook VRIO Analysis. Notesmatic. https://notesmatic.com/2020/04/facebook-vrio-analysis/

Resume, E. (2020, August 21). Working at Facebook Benefits. Empire Resume. https://empireresume.com/what-its-really-like-working-for-facebook/

Schwantes, M. (2020, October 18). What Smart Companies Like Facebook and Amazon Are Doing to Attract, Retain, and Manage Top Talent. Inc.Com.

https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/what-smart-companies-like-facebook-amazon-are-doing-to-attract-retain-manage-top-talent.html

S, S. (2019, December 10). Importance of Staffing. Economics Discussion. https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-resource-management/staffing-process/importance-of-staffing/32220

Symmons, G. (2018, January 30). An Insight into the Corporate Culture at Facebook. The 6Q Blog. https://inside.6q.io/insight-corporate-culture-facebook/

MEDIA RESEARCH

Title: Former Facebook VP says social media is destroying society with ‘dopamine-driven feedback loops

Author: Amy B Wang

The article focuses on the former Facebook executive Mr Chamath who gives a damming interview about the effects of Facebook and the role it plays in eroding the core foundations of how people behave by and between each other.

Mr Chamath interviews are characterized by biasness and can be termed as a bitter former employee exacting revenge on their bosses. Throughout the interview, he acknowledges the role he played in the development of the app; however, he only highlights instances were, unfortunately, Facebook was used to propagate fake news. Facebook has never shied away n admitting that there have been instances where the platform has been used negatively; however, it has put in place measures to ensure that those instances cease to exist. Mr Chamath interview is characterized by his interpretation of the adverse effects of Facebook by associating it with instant gratification and how it affects over 2 billion users negatively.

It is important to remember that when Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook, his initial idea was to create a platform for people to connect. Facebook has evolved to ensure that the users can connect with their loved ones and enjoy a smooth interface while using the like button. Instant gratification is a phenomenon that started at the dawn of the emergence of social media. The adverse effects highlighted by Mr Chamath are outweighed by the positive impact they have, which he deliberately doesn't mention during his interview. All in all, Mr Chamath's talk present a one sides argument of the adverse effects of Facebook in our society without taking a closer look at the immense positive impact Facebook has had over the years.

REFERENCE

Wang, A. B. (2017, December 12). Former Facebook VP says social media is destroying society with ‘dopamine-driven feedback loops.’ Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/12/12/former-facebook-vp-says-social-media-is-destroying-society-with-dopamine-driven-feedback-loops/