At&t Business Analysis

Business Analysis Part 3

MGT/521: Management

Due Date: Mon 11/05/2012

Instructor's Name: Dr. Leon Daniel

Business Analysis Part 3

For Business Analysis on a Fortune 500 Company I have selected AT&T Inc. for my analysis. In Paper 1 we discussed about SWOT Analysis on AT&T Inc., stakeholders, their needs and wants and also through business analysis we found out that AT&T is fulfilling its stakeholder's needs and wants both internally and externally. In Paper 2 we reviewed about the company's income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow to determine the financial health of the company. We saw AT&T's technological advantages, or lack thereof, in comparison to at least two other companies in the same industry. How globalization has affected the company's business strategies and finally we conducted a benchmarking analysis with best practices, operational processes and procedures and products or services.

Strategic Initiatives by AT&T Inc.

AT&T Inc. announced a major initiative to expand the universe of mobile applications beyond smartphones to more mobile phones - and spur future app development for emerging consumer electronics devices, its U-verse TV platform, and enterprise and small business workplaces. AT&T announced its goal to lead the industry in application choices for smartphone customers by offering all major app stores. It will preload the corresponding store for each device -- giving customers convenient access to thousands of apps optimized for their smartphone. Today, AT&T added to existing agreements with Nokia for Ovi store and Microsoft for Windows Marketplace by announcing an agreement for Android Market. It expects to announce more app store agreements in the near future and will offer carrier billing as an easy and convenient payment option for as many stores as possible. New devices that will give customers the most robust choices of major operating systems (OS), including Android, in the U.S.

Organizational adaptation to changing markets

AT&T Inc. organizational changes such as downsizing, restructuring, and reengineering are regarded as transformational, designed to fundamentally alter the basic nature of the organization. The company found eight commonly occurring recommendations for major organizational change in order to cope with hypercompetitive business environments:

1. Delayering (reducing the number of vertical levels in the organization).

2. Networks/alliances (involving internal and external strategic collaboration).

3. Outsourcing (of activities in which the organization has no distinctive competence).

4. Disaggregation (breaking up the organization into smaller business units).

5. Empowerment (introduction of mechanisms to provide employees with the authority,

resources and encouragement to take actions).

6. Flexible work groups (for specific purposes that are disbanded or reformed upon completion of the task).

7. Short-term staffing (in which people are contracted to the organization for a short period

of time to work on specific issues/tasks).

8. Reduction of internal and external boundaries (to encourage communication and

Resource sharing)

Operational adaptation to changing markets

At the 4th annual AT&T Developer Summit in Las Vegas, executives outlined details including:

 New devices that will give customers the most robust choices of major operating systems (OS), including Android™, in the U.S.

 A goal to offer all major smartphone OS app stores

 An agreement with Qualcomm to standardize apps development for mid-range Quick Messaging Devices using BREW Mobile Platform. These devices are used by millions of customers who historically have not had the same convenient access as smartphone customers to the market's hottest apps

 A new AT&T SDK (software developer kit) to help developers immediately begin to develop apps for these devices

 A significantly enhanced developer program and new relationships with global carriers that are intended to make it easier for developers to distribute apps in markets outside the U.S.

 Future initiatives to enable developers to create more apps for AT&T's U-verse TV, emerging consumer electronics devices, and businesses

 A new AT&T Virtual Innovation Lab and two new Innovation Centers, which will help developers and spur apps development

"Applications help consumers realize the full value and benefits of mobile broadband networks, services and devices," said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "Today some AT&T customers can take advantage of more than 100,000 apps - but only if they have the right handset. Our goal is to bring more apps to millions more of our customers who want convenient access to the market's hottest apps. At the same time, in the future, we plan to go well beyond mobile devices to spur apps development."

In addition to ultimately giving more customers more choices of applications, the long-term strategic initiatives announced today will make it easier for developers to cost effectively create applications and reach broader audiences, and help AT&T drive data revenues.

Economic trends which are influencing the business

The world is presently in the midst of a wave of revolutions, spanning from massive changes in global politics to the ever-exploding presence of social media and online technology into our everyday lives.

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