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MNGT481 – 102Course ProjectAssignment 3Comcast CorporationAlex Church, Eric Shedlock, Ritu Dangol, Ryan Siegler, Larissa SpiessAssignment 33-A. Identify the primary means of distribution used by the cast’s distribution channels are extremely vertically integrated throughout the entire process.They make their own entertainment boxes, which they house in their own facilities. Following this step, the boxes are either taken to a Comcast store or delivered straight to the customers by mail or a Comcast technician. Comcast uses a distribution setup that allows the company to remain a great deal of control throughout the entire process. However, a company with so many core competencies can possibly be spreading their resources out to thin, which could lead to a lack of efficiency (Comcast, 2015).3-B. Product Life Cycles: Comment on the life cycle phase for the Company’s major products/services.The products under Comcast’s entertainment branch are currently in the maturity phase of the product life cycle. This is evident in their financial statements, which have shown modest growth over the past couple of years. The slow growth of 3.3% from 2014 to 2015 of total cable revenue shows a leveling out of growth. However, lifecycles within a company can always be reinvented and Comcast may be showing some signs of that with their 2011 purchase of NBC Universal. From 2014 to 2015 NBC’s revenue grew by 20.2%, a percentage that indicates a product in its growth phase. Comcast’s major entertainment products are in maturity, but it seems that they are following a new strategy that allows diversifying their portfolio, by reinventing certain aspects of their services. This in turn may also lead to higher growth rates in the following years to come (Comcast, 2015). 3-C. Comment on the Company’s Value Chain in terms of dependencies and cast value Chain in terms of dependencies and efficienciesThe value chain is defined as the total of primary and support value-adding activities by which a firm produces, distributes, and markets a product. There are two types of value chain activities, the primary activities and the support activities. The primary activities include: inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service (Comcast, 2015). Inbound logistics: Comcast has distribution facilities throughout the United States, which minimizes shipping times. Comcast also has many warehouses, and other Comcast centers located in major locations, in order to maximize their efficiency of operations. Many warehouse facilities around the country have installed, or are currently in the process of installing equipment that is used to bundle unused cardboard for recycling. As a result, Comcast’s warehouses have drastically reduced waste, in some cases by more than 50 percent (Comcast, 2015).Outbound logistics: Comcast operates the tenth-largest commercial fleet of hybrid vehicles in the United States. With more than 6,300 hybrid and flex-fuel vehicles, Comcast has seen a reduction of 60,000 gallons of unleaded gas and more than a 25 percent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in 2011 alone. Up to 80 percent of new vehicle acquisitions are capable of using alternative fuel, with all vans and light-duty pickups being flex-fuel capable and the inclusion of hybrid passenger vehicles in Comcast’s fleet (Comcast, 2015). Market and Sales: Marketing Strategies of Comcast include all aspects of the marketing mix. Comcast currently offers a great variety of products and services and plans to update its distribution methods. This in turn will enable Comcast to offer greater value to its customers. The maintenance and reinstallation of Comcast's main distribution method (co-axial cable) will likely need to be updated within the next 5-15 years to compete. Comcast will keep its prices competitive, while attempting to offer the greatest value to the customer. Comcast has and will continue participating in multiple of different promotional tools. All promotion avenues will be exploited to guarantee that profitability is maintained, while also offering the greatest value to the consumer (Comcast, 2015). Service: Comcast offers many modes of services through avenues such as telephone and over the Internet. Combining consumer trends with the interest in sustainability has also resulted in more than 20 percent of all new customers using the redesigned “Self-Install Kits”. The kits and packing materials are 100 percent recyclable and let customers install or upgrade products and solve problems online without requiring a visit from a Comcast technician. This allows for quicker problem-solving on the consumers side, as well as lower cost for Comcast (Comcast, 2015). Support Activities include human resources, accounting and finances operations, technology, and procurement. Human Resources: Comcast identified high-school students from the Philadelphia region who left to pursue IT degrees elsewhere and invited them back to the area for summer internships. Many of the internships are with Comcast, but the interns will also get to experience local start-up companies as part of their internship. This strategy serves in the hopes to attract students to the technology business. Comcast also hosts its own university, in which the company holds internal training and leadership development programs (Comcast, 2015). Technology: Comcast is working to shape the future of media and technology. To create the best content and consistently pursue innovation to satisfy customers. In this day and age, improvements in technology are advancing rapidly and companies must strive to be leaders in innovation and creativity in order to stay ahead of the competition (Comcast, 2015). Procurement: Comcast is developing strategies to help achieve commercial synergies act and ensure their commitment to supplier diversity material and enterprise wide capital and operating expense based vendor negotiations. About 5 percent of the customer care agents work in virtual positions from home, and this is expected to increase in the cast procurement is the performance of acquiring, buying goods, services or works from an external source. It is favourable that the goods, services or works are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the acquirer in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location. Comcast cable and NBC Universal are responsible for the combined procurement function and will lead material and enterprise wide capital and operating expenses based on vendor negotiations, which is including overseeing supplier diversity initiatives, among many other areas of the company.3-D. Comment on the extent to which the Company utilizes each of the following:>Vertical Integration>Outsourcing>OffshoringComcast Company Utilizes Outsourcing and Offshoring to reduce their expenses and cost. Vertical Integration: Diversification into upstream and/or downstream industries. The FCC report is the most comprehensive analysis of broadband capabilities ever conducted in the U.S. This official government report reinforces that Comcast delivers the fastest speeds to more homes than anyone and provides the best online experience for all of the Internet-connected devices consumers now have in the home. Comcast is the only ISP to demonstrate that consistency across its entire footprint. Which has down loading speed can increase by over 150% when downloading and over 200% when uploading. Outsourcing: This is defined as the activities performed for a company by people other than its full-time employees. International outsourcing has taken on the most visible role in business and corporate strategy. International outsourcing is becoming increasingly more important, because of the increasingly rapid pace with which businesses are sourcing services, components, and information technology from developing countries such as Brazil, Philippines, Vietnamese, and India. More generally, foreign outsourcing locations tend to be defined by how automated a production process or service can be made, the relative labor costs, and the transportation cost involved. (Book-strategic Management Pg. 280- 281) Comcast is outsourcing their customer service International such as Brazil, Philippines, Vietnamese, and India. Customers feel uncomfortable and unsecured to give their personal information like Social and Credit Card number to pay their Comcast bill. According to the American Customer satisfaction, Comcast has the lowest customer-service provider, while Time Warner Cable ranks last among pay TV operators. Comcast also has lowest ranked customer service among Internet service providers. Sixteen percent of consumers reported having a bad experience with Comcast in the past six months. Nowadays, International outsourcing has taken on the most visible role in business and corporate strategy. International outsourcing is becoming increasingly more important, because of the increasingly rapid pace with which businesses are sourcing services, components, and information technology from developing countries (Berr, 2014). Offshoring: This is defined as moving a value chain activity or set of activities to another country, typically where key costs are lower. In the field of offshore outsourcing, it has become a strategic necessity for organizations that are growing or trying to reduce their company overhead expenses. It is considered by many companies as a way to create a base in a foreign land, where they wish to expand their operations. The outsourcing arrangement is used as a means of testing the grounds. Along with value addition, there are savings in offshore outsourcing, but the quality and value addition will only be realized once outsourcing begins. Offshore outsourcing also leads to immense time savings, while maintaining quality and higher productivity. Comcast is doing international offshoring to reduce their cost and expenses. However, customers in the United States are reluctant, as they do not feel safe to give out their last four digits of their social security to contractors outside the United States (Book-strategic Management Pg. 280- 281).Comcast moving their customer service and informational technology department as a value chain activity or set of activities to another country, typically where key costs are lower. In the field of offshore outsourcing, it has become a strategic necessity for organizations that are growing or trying to reduce their company overhead expenses. Comcast Offshore outsourcing also leads to immense time savings, while maintaining quality and higher productivity. Comcast is doing international offshoring to reduce their cost and expenses. However, customers in the United States are reluctant, as they do not feel safe to give out their last four digits of their social security to contractors outside the United States (Berr, 2014).3-E. Comment on the extent to which the Company utilizes the following:>Horizontal Integration>Related Diversification>Unrelated Diversification>Strategic Alliances, joint ventures, and/or Co-opetition.Horizontal IntegrationComcast has used horizontal integration by acquiring NBC Universal in 2009. They also recently tried to purchase Time Warner Cable in 2014, but Time Warner Cable did not go through with selling their company to Comcast. In 2008, Comcast became 100% owners of an Illinois & Indiana cable company, which added 696,000 customers to the company's service area, which was not the first of these regional acquisitions (Comcast, 2015).Related DiversificationComcast just recently announced that they would be offering their own on-demand service to subscribers in the Boston area before becoming available to every Comcast subscriber in 2016 (Risen, 2015). The acquisition of NBC universal is a great example of how this company uses unrelated diversification in its business strategy. These are examples of how Comcast is using related diversification to improve their business operations and remain competitive. Unrelated DiversificationComcast's biggest form of unrelated diversification is their venture capital affiliate of Comcast: Comcast Ventures. This affiliate of Comcast includes a portfolio of over 100 different companies and businesses that are unrelated to Comcast's main stream of business including companies like: TiVo, FanDuel (daily fantasy sports), Flipboard, and (Comcast Timeline,2015).Strategic Alliances, Joint Ventures, and/or CoopetitionComcast SportsNet is the group under Comcast that brings together four regional sports networks in the United States that are primarily owned and operated by Comcast. Comcast also has agreements with networks such as MASN to broadcast their channels to their customers (Comcast, 2015).In 2015, Comcast announced a partnership with Electronic Arts (EA) to develop an all new service that brings HD gaming experiences to the TV via X1-infinity. In 2009, Comcast and General Electric (GE) announced that they signed a definitive agreement to form a joint venture that consisted of NBC Universal businesses and Comcast's cable networks, which was later bought from GE in 2013. In 2012, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House networks ventured together to form Spectrum Co, LLC that sells 122 advanced wireless services spectrum licenses to Verizon Wireless (Comcast, 2015).3-F. Identify any strategic imperatives critical to the Company’s survival over the next 36 to 60 months.There are a few strategic imperatives that Comcast Corporation must meet in the next three to five years in order to stay in business. First Comcast must be able to continue the growth and innovation of Comcast Cable. Comcast’s XFINITY brand is a major cable provider across the United States (Reuters, 2015). This is one of Comcast’s main segments that will allow for potential growth in other areas of the company. Comcast must continue to offer supreme cable packages using television, Internet, and phone packages. Comcast must continue to innovate and add features that will make their packages more desirable for consumers. The second imperative Comcast must do is continuing to strengthen the growth of NBC Universal. NBC Universal is one of the largest television networks in the world (Reuters, 2015). Comcast must maintain the NBC Universal brand but continue to add creative programing that will entice viewers to continue to watch the networks. The further growth of NBC Universal over its variety of networks will increase the amount of consumers purchasing cable, which in return will help the XFINTY brand of Comcast grow. The third imperative that Comcast must achieve is that all of their acquisitions must be successful. Comcast has made the decision to acquire a lot of companies for a lot of money and if these do not work then Comcast will be in serious trouble. The financial stability of the company relies on the success of these acquisitions and if they do not work then Comcast may not be able to operate their business. The final imperative Comcast must do is continuing to diversify their offerings. Currently Comcast has a lot of segments that are all tied into the same market of television. Comcast must diversify their portfolio to make sure many of their offerings can attract the market of consumers wanting to use their offerings on their computer. If televisions were to become obsolete than Comcast Corporation would struggle to survive. Comcast may look to acquire other companies in the media field that work strictly over the Internet to help avoid this issue. 3-G. Based on the Team’s research and analysis, formulate 4-5 recommendations for the senior management of the Company. Make sure the recommendations are both specific and strategic (requiring 3-5 years), and are supported by your research.Mission StatementThe mission statement of Comcast is well defined and structured. Our recommendation would be to further emphasize the importance of the mission statement and to follow it during decision-making processes. Comcast is “inspired by a rich heritage, Comcast NBC Universal has the experience, creativity and leadership to shape the future of media and technology” (Comcast Cable, 2015). Therefore, it is important that Comcast continues to be a leader in the industries it operates in, as well as shaping the way Consumers use their products and services. For example, Comcast will continue to invest in their co-axial lines, in order to be the leading cable and Internet provider in the United States when it comes to coverage and speed. While Comcast is focusing on shaping the future of media and technology, it should also add a sentence to focus on its customers and their satisfaction. Unfortunately, Comcast has a bad reputation when it comes to customer service and is far behind its major competitors such as AT&T and Verizon (Carter, 2015). Therefore, in order to add customer care to Comcast’s core competencies, it should be added in the mission statement to emphasize the importance and to signal to their consumers that Comcast is willing to make the change and improve its weaknesses. Related Diversification and AlliancesAnother recommendation for Comcast to focus on for the next three to five years would be related diversification. As mentioned in the mission statement, Comcast sees itself as a leader in the future of media and technology, therefore it is of uttermost importance to diversify within the industry to explore and experience different aspects of the industry. For example, over the last few years, companies such as Netflix and Hulu Plus have emerged with on-demand services, whereas Comcast only recently announced to follow this trend by providing their own on-demand service. However, it will not be available to every Comcast subscriber immediately, but will rather be implemented in stages. Additionally, Comcast is charging a higher price for less flexibility than Netflix or Hulu Plus have to offer. Therefore, it will be questionable if Comcast’s implementation will be a success or not. Nevertheless, it is important for Comcast to consider related diversification in order to not only grow in the Internet, but also TV subscriptions (Risen, 2015). The following recommendation using a strategic alliance may be an alternative to slowly move into related diversification by minimizing some of the risk. Strategic AllianceAnother alternative to compete with on-demand services would be to first join a strategic alliance with the main competitors, such as Netflix or Hulu Plus. Our recommendation would be to add new alternatives to their subscription bundles and potentially offer customized cable and Internet packages including Netflix subscriptions. Entering in a joint venture with Netflix, which is the most popular alternative to Cable providers, would attract a larger customer base to both Netflix and Comcast (Risen, 2015). At the same time, it will allow for co-opetition, which describes working together, while also competing against each other. Both companies will be able to benefit from this cooperation, and Comcast will be able to continue to be a leader in the industry while also gaining valuable expertise in the area of on-demand services. If the alliance is successful, Comcast may opt to introduce an improved version of their own on-demand service, thus using related diversification to strengthen their business operations and ensure the long-time success. Horizontal IntegrationAs outlined before, Comcast has been continuously acquiring other businesses, whether in the same industry or by diversifying its portfolio. Our recommendation is to continue to focus on the horizontal integration of businesses with Comcast to further consolidate the market and increase Comcast’s market share and influence. The deal with Time Warner Cable may have been unsuccessful, but through the acquisitions of smaller businesses throughout the country, Comcast will be able to further increase its area of coverage and offer more households in the U.S. its services. It will not only gain greater market share by a greater outreach, but it will also allow to quicker improve current co-axial lines to adapt to the changing needs of its customers and offer faster Internet speeds. Horizontal Integration may be more costly than other recommendations and bears more risks, but may give Comcast higher rewards if successfully implemented. 3-H. Sources and References: List all sources, both primary and secondary, used in the research. This should include websites, periodicals, newspapers, annual reports, SEC 10K reports, industry analyses, investor publications, etc.AT&T Inc. (2014, February 10). 10-K. Retrieved from? , J. (2015, January 30). Comcast now has more than half of all US broadband customers. 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Retrieved September 9, 2015. HYPERLINK "" (2014, September 9) Comcast Corporation SWOT Analysis. p1-11.Nagesh, G., & Ramachandran, S. (2014, September 24). Comcast, TWC Blast Critics of Merger. Retrieved September 29, 2015, from Portfolio. Comcast Ventures Portfolio Companies. October 27, 2015. Retrieved from , S. (2015, January 29). New FCC Broadband Benchmark Lifts Comcast's Share to Nearly 60%. Retrieved September 29, 2015, from , T. (2015, July 16). "Comcast, Netflix and the Death of Cable." U.S. News. Retrieved October 27, 2015, from Satellite tv wiz- retrieved on September 27, 2015 Time Warner Cable Inc. (2015, February 13). 10-K. Retrieved from? Warner Cable Annual Report. (2015, May 1). Retrieved October 26, 2015, from Reports/2014/TWC-2014-Annual-Report.pdfVerizon- S&P capital IQ McGraw hill financial retrieved on September 27, 2015 Communications, Inc. (2015, February 23). 10-K. Retrieved from? Communications, Inc. 5 Year Revenue trend. Retrieved from?, C. 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