In motion globalization

Q Research in Motion or RIM is one of the leading smartphone providers in the world offering of the art Blackberry smartphone capable of allowing users to check their emails, browse internet besides completing some of the official tasks such as reading spreadsheets on the go. However, it works in an industry where the basis of competition change with the introduction of every new product and existing players will have to improve the capabilities in order to sustain in the market. The introduction of Apple Iphone and other Android based phones has posed a great threat to RIM because other products are gradually taking the market. (Peers ). One of the most effective ways to counter such challenge is to improve the research and development activity at the firm. RIM therefore will require a constant inflow of talented and creative software developers to continue to develop better and more consumer friendly applications for RIM. This is critical in order to not only continue to hold the attention of the consumers but also successfully negotiate with the competition. If RIM does not ramp up its R&D quickly, it can soon see itself out of the business. This is because the overall competitive threat is quite huge not in terms of hardware side but also on software side too. Apple and Google have launched phones which can be considered as direct competitors of RIM’s Blackberry. (Peers). Similarly, Microsoft has come up with a new operating system allowing users to have better experience because the overall trends are shifting towards meeting social networking needs of the consumers rather than allowing them to have better productivity at work. Q#2 It has been observed that the concentration of software developers is regional based wherein major hubs of producing quality software developers are in few countries or regions. Most importantly countries like India and US are considered as the international hubs for the quality supply of qualified software developers. International strategy will involve finding a market from where RIM can actually tap into the available pool of resources of software developers. As such it can therefore focus on some regions like India to find high quality software developers. By using the multinational strategy, RIM can actually relocate some of its research and development facilities to other countries. It can do so by opening up a subsidiary or setting up a strategic alliance with any firm. By adapting global strategies, RIM can actually open its research and development facilities at different locations across the world where it believes the major talent is situated. It can therefore focus on the opening up of different R&D facilities in various countries at the same time in order to tap into the local talent. For example, it can set up its R&D in India, China as well as in US at the same time and enjoy the local expertise and knowledge. (Arora) By undertaking a transnational strategy, RIM will have to give independent power to its different subsidiaries in different parts of the world to have their own objectives for R&D. This may therefore not be in sync with its overall corporate strategy. Bibliography Arora, Ashish. Why India’s Software Firms Prosper. 07 November 2010. 31 March 2011 . PEERS, MARTIN. BlackBerry Maker’s Slow-Motion Decline. 25 March 2011. 31 March 2011 . Peers, Martin. For RIM, Less Research Could Mean More Motion . 30 March 2011. 31 March 2011 .