Facebook: Looking to the Future

A. General instructions

1. Use UMUC’s Library (mainly) for research in this assignment. Look for worldwide data, and not North America data; remember; this is a global strategy course!!

2. Only use scholarly and reliable non-scholarly sources such as Bloomberg, Reuters, Money, Forbes, and Fortune (no answer.com, QuickMBA, eHow, Wikipedia…….).

· 3. Assignment should be supported by at least three scholarly (peer-reviewed articles), and at least three reliable non-scholarly sources; in addition to the weekly readings and multimedia content listed in the classroom.

· 4. Assignment should be written in a paper format; not a question and answer format.

· 5. A half page Introduction should be included. Also, Lessons Learned and a Conclusion should be included at the end of the case study.

· 6. All questions are to be attempted. Relate your answers to the required reading. Do not restate the information from the case study; go beyond the included information; analyze!

· Paper should be 5 pages one inch margins, 12 point font, double spacing. The cover page, reference list are not part of the page count.

7. Paper should be 6-8 pages long, with one inch margins, 12 point font, double-spacing, and should be posted as a PDF document. The cover page, reference list, and appendix are not part of the page count. All graphics should be placed in the appendix.

· 8. Use APA format for in-text citations and the reference list.

· Please have each question as a header. For example the headers should be (Competitive Advantages, Weakenesses, Innovation Strategies etc.)

Required Sources:

· Schmitz, A. (Trans.). 2012. Managing new products: The product life cycle.

· Wineclaw, R.A. (2015). New product management. Research Starters: Business (Online Edition). (UMUC Library)

· Jaruzelski, B., Loehr, J., & Holman, R. (2011). The global innovation 1000: Why culture is key. Strategy+Business, 65.

Case Study

· Barnett, W., & Han, A. (2011). Facebook in 2011. Stanford Graduate School of Business. Case No. E406. 1-28.

B. Questions:

1. How was Facebook able to stay ahead of competitors like Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn over the last 5 years? What strategies did they implement to give them that competitive advantage?

2. Describe the weaknesses of Facebook’s privacy policies and features. What factors contributed to those weaknesses? Did Facebook overcome this issue? If so, how? If not, what recommendations would you propose?

3. What steps should Facebook take to increase the confidence of users, analysts and investors in its innovation strategies?

4. As the social media industry continues to expand, what measures should Facebook take to fend off new and innovative companies from entering the market?