After it introduced the tremendously successful Droid smartphone into the marketplace in 2009, Motorola fast moved to develop the next-generation Droid 2 before the next wave of smartphones (including the rumored iPhone 4) flooded the market. The advancement process was moving effortlessly for the business when its largest partner, Verizon, dropped a bombshell. It was not happy with the mechanical camera button on the Droid 2 (mentioning customer comments) and desired for it to be changed to a software button like the iPhone's. This request immediately put Motorola in the proverbial horns of a dilemma. On the one hand, it could not brush the request of its largest and most important associate aside. On the other hand, altering the camera button would devise delaying the Droid 2's entry into the industry. Should the Droid 2 team remove the hardware button of the camera in favor of a software button per Verizon's request? The product manager, John Smith, directs the cross-practical Droid 2 team.
Motorola's Droid 2 The Product Manager's Dilemma Case Study Solution
The case setting is an emergency "war room" meeting to address this critical problem, just weeks before launch. John's objective is to have views and the outstanding facts of team members fast so he is able to make an educated recommendation by the end of the day to his boss. He is concerned that this last minute request for a design change will not only threaten to delay the launch, which would have important financial implications, but could potentially create deep fissures in a hitherto successful team that had been running like a well-oiled machine. The case puts students in a situation that simulates a real-world discussion and permits them to experience what it is like, as a merchandise manager, to orchestrate a meeting with cross-functional teams that have agendas and conflicting priorities. It exemplifies the challenges while striving to make significant conclusions with little or no direct power over the various teams, a merchandise manager faces.
PUBLICATION DATE: February 19, 2014 PRODUCT #: KEL772-PDF-ENG
This is just an excerpt. This case is about LEADERSHIP & MANAGING PEOPLE
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