Group+Status+Report

1) **Team Members**:Cailin Tacktor, Kathryn Michniak, Spencer Biery, Emily Yurgaites, Danae Stout
 * Team Name**:

2) **Company to be studied**: Nokia

3) **Brief description of the analysis conducted/in progress**: Katie: Currently, I have been researching the different market shares that Nokia has throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Nokia has a much stronger foot hold in Europe than they do in the United States and I'm researching why. My portion of the internal analysis is based on financial aspects, so I have been researching their main profit sharing margins, their auditor's report, and their other financial statements. Another portion of my research is why Nokia is so financially successful abroad, and why they really aren't a main competitor here in the United States.

Spencer: I have been researching Porter's Five Forces. I found an industry summary using Zahnow Library's online databases. My research has found the mobile device manufacturing market is part of the larger communications equipment industry. I also found a consumer report that discusses major cell phone manufacturers as well as major wireless carriers. I would like to perform research to understand to understand how mobile phone manufacturers and software developers complement each other, such as the development tools provided, licensing fees, etc.

Emily: For the project so far, I have been reading information online about Nokia to better understand the company and what they do. Before reading about the company, all I knew about Nokia was that they made cell phones. Their website has quite a bit of very useful and interesting information, so I've spent a lot of time going through all that is included on www.nokia.com as well as some other sites that have information about Nokia. I have also looked briefly at their main competitors' websites. Danae: In the research so far, I’ve been trying to get a better understanding on the cell phone industry. I’m focusing a lot of my research on the timeline of the cell phone industry in particular which will be helpful in doing the industry life cycle. Even though Nokia has been extremely successful, I have also been attempting to look for possible opportunities for the company and possible threats that they may be facing currently or perhaps in the future.

Cailin: I have been researching basic information on the cell phone industry in order to gather information on strategic group analysis. I'm researching the cell phone industry's strategies and business models in determine how they target different customer groups, customer needs and how they differentiate themselves from their competitors. Then, this information will be used to see how Nokia differentiates itself from its competitors and how they target their customer needs.

4) **Anticipated key findings from your analysis (3-4 of the most important points**: Katie: Key Finding 1: Nokia currently is the world's largest mobile phone manufacturing company, yet they have below a 10% market share in the United States. Researchers feel that this is because the majority of individuals still have a vision of Nokia as it once was, the simple green back lit phone that didn't have many options. Key Finding 2: One of the main issues with the Nokia brand is innovation. People in the United States feel that the brand just doesn't have the options that they are looking for in a mobile device.

Spencer: Key Finding 1: A consumer report mentioned Nokia devices are not as widely available through U.S. carriers, which limits their exposure to consumers. An article in the New York times attributed this to Nokia's refusal to adapt their products to American tastes and preferences, such as a desire for touch screen capability. Key Finding 2: A quick look at the websites of some of the major manufacturers: of the manufacturers with an easy to find developer page, (Motorola, Apple, and Nokia, Research in Motion), only Nokia advertises its development libraries as being cross platform. This would lower switching costs for consumers if applications developed using Nokia's tools could be used on another smartphone, but would give developers a larger market and reduced development costs.

Emily: Key Finding 1: Nokia's competitive advantage comes mainly from their scale-based assets and capabilities (efficiency), leading brand (quality/responsiveness to customers), and differentiating their offering through services (innovation, responsiveness to customers). Nokia offers many different types of services that makes them unique from their competitors. They very much strive to find out what customers want and offer them the products/services that will meet their needs. By 1998, Nokia had become the world's biggest mobile phone manufacturer. In 2009 they had 38% of the mobile device market share. Key Finding 2: This may be old news now, however, I didn't know about this until doing research and found it interesting that Microsoft and Nokia formed a global alliance to design, develop, and market mobile productivity solutions to businesses, carriers, and individuals. It says how this is the first time that either company has embarked on an alliance of this scope and nature. With the worldwide software leader and world's largest smartphone manufacturer entering into an alliance, it seems as though they will be able to offer many benefits to people around the world.

Danae:  Key finding 1: Nokia is based highly on research and development which continues to create a fantastic opportunity for the company. I was looking at a form of cell phone timeline for Nokia and the many cell phones that they have created. It was interesting to see the transformation from the very beginning to where the company is at currently. Key finding 2: In researching some information on Nokia’s website, I noticed that they are highly motivated to helping and protecting the environment. I feel that this stands out a lot because so many companies are not currently pursuing more environmentally-healthy methods of production or usage. Nokia is currently working towards producing devices that have smaller and more recyclable packaging, they are working toward using more approved materials for the environment and improving the efficiency of their products.

Cailin: Key Finding: One of the ways that Nokia is differentiating itself from its competition is by its focus on corporate responsibility and by being environmentally conscious. Nokia's creating cell phone devices that use less electricity and less material to be more environmentally-friendly. They even give tips, recommendations, to Nokia users on how to be more energy efficient with their phones with tips from unplugging the phone when it has been charged to turning off phone applications when they are not being used. Key Finding: While Nokia prides itself on its innovation, as seen on their website, they are falling behind and losing market share due to their slow response in offering new technology, such as touch screen phones, to customers.

5) **Likely recommendations to respond to your findings**: Katie: Recommendation for Key Finding 1: Nokia needs to spend more money on advertising to get their new products out there. Many people still envision Nokia as the creator of their first cell phone with the snake game on it, not a technologically advanced handheld computer. If Nokia did more advertising, people in the United States would not have this vision of the cell phones. Recommendation for Key Finding 2: Coinciding somewhat with my first recommendation, Nokia needs to get the word out there about the products that they are offering to consumers. Not only is Nokia a cellular phone company, they also sell technology in the computer industry and other products as well. Many consumers do not know that Nokia offers products such as these, which doesn't let them reach new individuals. By branching into new markets, such as netbooks and PDA's, Nokia will be able to show consumers that they really are at the foreground for innovators in the communication industry.

Spencer: Recommendation for Key Finding 1: Nokia should explore ways to become more available in the United States, first by adapting its phones to better satisfy customer preferences and then by partnering with with carriers to increase exposure to the American consumer. Recommendation for Key Finding 2: Nokia should market its development tools to more third-party developers. Nokia could target Android and iPhone developers by pointing to the combined market share of Nokia as well as competitor smartphones with compatible operating systems (Embedded Linux, Windows CE/Mobile, and Symbian, the last being a joint venture between Nokia, Motorola, and Ericsson).

Emily: Recommendation from Key Finding 1: Nokia must continue to do extensive R&D on the services they offer for mobile devices as this is one key area that is helping them stay ahead of the competition. Other firms are making mobile devices that have been gaining market share, such as Apple with their iPhone and Research in Motion with their BlackBerry. The services part of Nokia's business must be focused on to bring value and innovation. Recommendation from Key Finding 2: Nokia should look for other companies to form alliances with that can help improve their products.

Danae:  Recommendation 1: The first recommendation for Nokia is to stay ahead on the innovation within the company. Nokia needs to keep their competitive advantage by continuing to produce new products with high quality and improvements. The goal of each cell phone company is to be better than their competitors, so one of the most important things for Nokia to accomplish is to stay ahead of their competitors. Recommendation 2: Nokia is working in the right direction to become more environmentally friendly. It is important for Nokia to continue these practices and work to create better and healthier products and methods. Many companies simply say they are working towards being more “green”, however it is important to continue to act on the promise already made. Perhaps Nokia can create future devices that are more environmentally friendly or package their products with materials which also recyclable. Cailin: The first recommendation for Nokia is to be more innovative and keep up-to-date on what consumers prefer in their cell phone technology. Nokia also needs react more quickly if a different company offers a new product or service that better suits customers needs.

The second recommendation is for Nokia to better analze competitors strategies in order to see what is working and what does not work well. If there is a strategy that is extremely successful, Nokia should capitalize on that strategy and modify it to meet their own needs. This will allow Nokia to differentiate its services while positioning itself to be the market leader in meeting customer needs.