Blackberry Limited

BlackBerry

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This report provides a change communication plan based on an organizational analysis of a case study of BlackBerry Limited, formerly known as Research in Motion. The aim of the change communication plan is to give recommendations to the company on how to successfully, by the use of internal and external change agents, implement change to the company’s strategy. The focus of this report is on years 2007-2013, which mark the rise and decline of the company that was once the market leader in the telecommunications industry.

An internal analysis of BlackBerry Ltd. was conducted using the 5C Model together with McKinsey’s 7S model. The external environment was analyzed by the use of the DESTEP model. Based on the preliminary research and analysis, it was concluded that the company was being led by an insufficient leadership style, which had resulted in an unhealthy organizational culture. The dual co-founder CEO structure, which lasted until 2012, had resulted in “founder’s syndrome” strongly affecting the ability of the company to respond efficiently to competition. The top management was unable to see the real treats, being too close to their own work. The conservative mind-set of the leadership regarding innovation and adaptability caused customers to turn to competitors (Apple, Google) and so BlackBerry lost its position in the market.

After identifying the area(s) where change needs to be implemented, change agents were chosen accordingly. In this case, two internal (head of HR and chief strategic officer, CSO) and two external (consulting management) positions were appointed. These positions were seen suitable as the change, which will be implemented, includes restructuring programs and changing culture (=complex change). In order to have a clear guideline on how to successfully close the gap between the dysfunctional state and the desired, functional state, a change management strategy was introduced.

Based on the change management strategy, recommendations for facilitating the gap were made:

* Communicating through storytelling: Communication with the top management, middle management and employees needs to be efficient in order to create a realization of change and the desired goal.

* Revised mission and vision: Cohesive organizational objectives serve as guidelines for shareholders, employees and leaders, and they align the company’s present day to the ideal future.

* Emphasizing and encouraging organizational values of diversity, learning and trust: These values need to start from the top management and shared across the organization with the goal of becoming more open, innovative and efficient.

These recommendations are discussed in the change communication plan with specifications of audience (who), objectives (what), message (what), channels (how), timeline (when, how often) and change agent (who) for each strategy.

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Table of Contents

1. Debriefing 4

2. Theoretical Framework 5

2.1 The 5C Model 5

2.2 McKinsey’s 7S Model 5

2.3 DESTEP 6

2.4 SWOT 7

2.5 Change Agent 7

2.6 Caldwell’s Models 7

2.7 Block’s Roles of the Change Agent 8

3 Organizational Analysis 8

4 Change Agent 9

5 Change Management Strategy 11

5.1 Stage 1: Storytelling 11

5.2 Stage 2: Mission and Vision 12

5.3 Stage 3: Diversity and Learning 12

5.4 Stage 4: Building Trust 15

6 Communication Plan 17

7 Reference List 24

8 Appendices 30

8.1 Appendix 1: Internal Analysis 30

8.2 Appendix 2: External Analysis 33

8.3 Appendix 3: Overview Communication Plan and Timeline 39

8.4 Appendix 4: Records of Individual Participation 42

1. Debriefing

Research in Motion (RIM) was a Canadian multinational wireless telecommunications software and mobile hardware company, founded by Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin in 1984, based in Waterloo (Ontario, Toronto). By 1998 the company turned into BlackBerry Limited and launched in March 2002 the first-ever smartphone, BlackBerry 5810, characterised by its Qwerty complete and integrated keyboard and a private messaging software called BlackBerry Messenger, what became a sign of the company’s identity. Their first devices were highly commercialised and BlackBerry became popularly known as a brand of prestige, pioneer for its new technology in the smartphone market. Those innovative cell phones gained the admiration of governments, corporative clients, celebrities and millions of consumers, due to that BlackBerry became a $ 20 billion company in less than a decade (McNish, 2016).

Despite its extraordinary success, BlackBerry’s leadership position started to be in danger in the wake of 2007 when Apple appeared as a big competitor in the smartphone market by launching the IPhone, a cell phone with a large touchscreen and applications –an innovative proposal radically opposed to what characterised BlackBerry’s products–. The touch-screen mobile phone concept appeared as an incipient trend followed by other enterprises such as Samsung or Google by Android, what quickly started to catch consumer’s attention. Blackberry didn’t take into account the signals that announced imminent