Purpose Statement
The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed report to the board of directors of GoPro about the planned launch of Karma Drone in the global market to help them in their decision-making processes in relation to the new product.
Executive Summary
Karma drone project aims at launching a new product, GoPro Karma drone camera, into the global market. The report provides a detailed analysis of the project in a way that will help inform the board of directors when making the decision of either approving or rejecting the project. After a brief introduction, the report provides a detailed analysis of the industry in which the firm operates. It then narrows down to company analysis in order to outline its capacity to undertake this project. The report then focuses on the project itself, looking at its benefits to the firm, how it should be implemented, and possible challenges. The report ends by looking at ethical and legal considerations that must be observed by the firm when launching the product.
Karma Drone Project
In the recent past, GoPro has experienced a number of challenges in its operations which have affected its profitability in the market. In the financial statements released for the year ending 2015, both the operating income and profit for the company dropped. The market is highly competitive and this firm is under great pressure to find ways of becoming profitable again. Its sustainability depends on its ability to deliver quality products to the customers in a profitable manner. It must understand the changing tastes and preferences of its customers and be able to develop new products that exceed customers’ expectations to ensure that they are always thrilled (Samuelson & Marks, 2012). It is on this background that the management of this company made a decision to come up with GoPro Karma.
The new product is expected to deliver a high value to the company’s customers because of its unique features. It was developed following the feedback that the company has been receiving from its customers in the recent years. It enables its users to take aerial photos and videos with ease. The new product has been developed and the team has already tested it. The initial tests show that it is easy to control and it can cover great distance, which is in line with the expectations of the customers. The management has put systems and structures in place to ensure that equilibrium for this new product is achievable as soon as it is launched. It will help the firm to avoid deadweight loss (dead weight is an economic term which refers to loss of economic efficiency which occurs when the equilibrium for a product is not achieved or is unachievable) by improving economic efficiency in the firm’s operations (Samuelson & Marks, 2012). The report provides a detailed analysis of the planned launch of the new product that will help the board of directors make informed decisions.
Industry Analysis
GoPro Karma drone is about to be launched and the approval of the board of directors will be needed. It is normal that the directors will need information about forces in the industry within which this firm operates. As such, a detailed analysis of the industry will be critical at this stage to help the board understand how this new product will perform in the market once it is launched.
Porters Five Forces
The forces within the industry have direct impact on the performance of this new product as soon as it is launched in the market. Having a framework that analyzes competition levels within the industry and business strategy needed of the firm is critical for the firm to achieve success (Lannoye, 2015). Porters Five Forces will, therefore, be used to identify the industry forces and how this company can deal with them appropriately. This model explains forces in an industry that may affect operations of a firm directly or indirectly. The figure below shows the five forces that must be taken into consideration when using the model.
One of the most important factors that must be taken into consideration when launching this product is the level of competitive rivalry among the existing players in the industry. Currently, Mavic Pro, Hobbib Inc, 3D Robotics, and Blade are the direct competitors in the market. The level of competitive rivalry is getting stiff as each of these players struggle to dominate the market. The firm’s management will need to come up with ways of managing the stiff competition.
It will have to take advantage of its unique capabilities to deal with this rivalry. The ability of this firm to produce drones in a more efficient and cost effective manner than the market rivals will enable it meet the needs of its target market (Samuelson & Marks, 2012). The comparative advantage (ability of an entity to undertake a given economic activity in a more efficient way that other entities) will enable it offer unique products in the market than its market rivals. The firm will be able to create for itself a pool of loyal customers that trust its products over what rival firms offer.
The threat of new entrants into the industry is another problem that the management of GoPro must take into account as it launches the new product. Existence of obstacles, which prevent new rivals from easily getting into the market such as high start-up costs and government regulations, may define the level of threat posed by the new entrants (Samuelson & Marks, 2012). Barriers to entry define how easy the current market share of this firm can be attacked by new firms. Government regulations in the United States are not restrictive to new firms. The emerging technologies are also making it easy to develop drones. As such, it is possible for new firms to get into the local making. The threat is relatively high, given that many Chinese drone manufacturers are also targeting the American market.
The bargaining power of the suppliers is another critical issue because it defines the cost of delivering the product to the market. At first, the management of GoPro considered outsourcing some of the processes in developing Karma drone, but this idea was dropped and the firm currently is responsible for the assembling of this gadget. Most of the components used in developing this drone can be found in the local market from a number of suppliers. GoPro has a number of options to make when purchasing these components, which makes the bargaining power of the suppliers relatively low. The firm can negotiate for better prices when purchasing supplies to help lower the overall cost of production.
The bargaining power of buyers also matters because the product must meet its production costs when sold in the market. Drone cameras are becoming popular in the United States as technology keeps on advancing. Given its affordability and the increasing size of the middle class in the country, the demand for this product is high. Although a number of firms are already offering this product in the market, the demand continues to rise, which helps in lowering the power of the buyers. Currently, the bargaining power of the buyers is moderate, but this may change if more firms emerge in the market.
The threat of substitutes is another concern that the management must consider when developing strategies for the launch of Karma drone. Drone camera is a unique product with a unique capability when one wishes to take aerial photos and videos. Although one may use normal cameras mounted on tall frames to take aerial photos and videos, the quality of the pictures and videos cannot not be as good as when it is taken using drone cameras. As such, the threat of substitute products in the current market is very low. This is an advantage for this product because currently there is not such an effective product that can be used in its place to take aerial photos and videos.
Company Analysis
It is a fact that the board of directors has detailed knowledge about this company’s history and capabilities. However, at this stage the report will focus on analyzing this company in respect to the new product that is about to be launched to outline how well it is equipped to offer customers what they desire in the market. Founded in 2002 by Nick Woodman, GoPro currently a publicly traded company that is headquartered in San Mateo, California.
It specializes in videography and consumer electronics. The firm operates in the global market, though the United States is its primary market. The founder of this firm, Nick Woodman, is its current chief executive officer. A report released by the firm shows that it has been experiencing problems with its profitability partly because of the emerging market competition and increasing wage bill. The top management unit, working closely with other employees of this firm, has tried to find ways of increasing the firm’s revenue. A number of new projects have been suggested and critically analyzed by relevant department.
Currently, it is clear that Karma drone project is at the top of the list as one that will help increase its revenues if undertaken properly. Once this new product is launched, it will create an additional revenue stream for the company that will make it profitable. However, the success of this product will depend on the capabilities of this firm and its ability to deal with external forces. As such, it will be necessary to conduct a SWOT analysis for this company.
SWOT Analysis
The model enables the researcher to analyze internal strength and weaknesses of GoPro and external opportunities and threats in relevance to this new product that is about to be launched. This model also makes it possible to understand how this firm can use its strength to counter its weaknesses and threats, and take advantage of the opportunities available in the market.
Strength and weaknesses
One of the main strengths of GoPro is its wealth of experience in the field of technology, videography, and consumer electronics. Founded about 15 years ago, GoPro has mastered the changing trends in the consumer market and has been one of the leading agents of change in the industry. It pool of highly talented employees played a significant role in helping the firm to come up Karma drone, a product that takes the process of taking pictures and recording videos to a whole new level.
It is a clear indication that this firm is capable of understanding the needs of its customers and providing products that meet these needs in a unique way. The employees of this firm have proven over the years to be flexible when it comes to managing change (Galleso, 2016). They respond positively to changing environmental factors, making it easy for the management to introduce new strategies in the market. Although the profitability of the firm dropped in the last financial year, the revenues of this firm can fully support the Karma project.
It is important to appreciate that a number of weaknesses exists at this company that will have to be addressed to ensure that this product is successful in the market once it is launched. The top management unit of this firm is slow when it comes to embracing change. The idea of a drone mounted camera first featured in this firm in 2013. However, it was not until in 2016 that the firm was able to actualize the idea. Other rival firms were able to take advantage of this weakness and launched the same product earlier than GoPro. It was also apparent that the top managers are incapable of developing an effective strategic partnership with other firms that can lead to mutual benefits.
When trying to develop Karma, GoPro tried to work with Dà-Jiāng Innovations Science and Technology (DJI) and 3D Robotics, but both deals failed to work out, forcing the firm to undertake the entire project alone. These would be partners are currently its strongest competitors in the market.
Opportunities and threats
The market has a number of opportunities that this company can take advantage of when this new product is introduced in the market. One of the main opportunities in the market is the growing number of companies that rely on drone cameras to shoot their videos and cameras. In the past, players in the film industry were the main customers. Currently, advertising agencies are also using these products.
The growing size of the middle class also means that more individuals and families can purchase this product for domestic use. The emergence of new technologies simplifies the process of developing this product. It opens up a new opportunity where this firm can develop this product itself instead of paying other firms to assemble parts of the drone camera. The new technologies also slash the cost of producing the drones. A supportive government that does not negatively interfere in operations of individual firms also creates a perfect environment for this firm’s growth.
The external environment has a number of threats that the management should be keen on managing to ensure that this project achieves the desired success. The biggest threat in the market is the stiff competition offered by local and international firms. A number of firms have copied this business idea and are producing similar products that compete directly with Karma drones. In the international markets, there is a problem of counterfeiting. China is an example of a market where intellectual property laws are very ambiguous, creating loophole for other firms to copy designs developed by other firms (Guttman, 2017). Dealing with these market threats is critical in ensuring that this product achieves desired success in the market.
Product Overview
A number of the members of the board of governors of this company are already aware of Karma drones and the history behind it. However, it is necessary conduct a detailed overview of this new product so that these board members can understand what this firm is taking into the market. In this section, the analysis will focus on the 4 Ps (product, price, place, and promotion) of Karma drones.
Product Description
GoPro Karma is a newly developed foldable consumer drone. The product is designed in a way that enables it to capture 12MP photos and 4K30 video. One can view live camera feeds when using this gadgets, especially when recording a movie (Galleso, 2016). It also has a game-style controller that makes it fun using it to take pictures or record videos. One can easily fold it, making it easily portable. The figure below is an image of GoPro Karma that will be launched soon by this company.
This product is specifically important for organizations that specialize in commodities whose market value are derived from information they contain (Samuelson & Marks, 2012). Information good (information good is a product whose actual value in the market is derived from the nature of information it contains), such as DVDs with movie content, can be developed in a better way using GoPro Karma. The product is slightly different from what other firms offer in the market in terms of its size, shape, quality of its camera, and ease with which it can be remotely controlled.
Price
Karma drone is a product that is already developed. One of the most challenging tasks that this firm now faces before the launch is setting the right price. A number of factors will have to be considered when setting the right price. One of the main factors is that the set price should meet all the costs of producing the product and leave the firm meaningful profit to enhance sustainability.
Charging low prices that force other players out of the market may not be the best strategy for this firm because it will also hurt its own profits (Samuelson & Marks, 2012). As such, GoPro will avoid predatory pricing (the act of pricing products so low that it forces rival firms out of the market because of their inability to operate sustainably at such prices) when it launches its operations. The firm will also avoid setting very high prices that can make its products unaffordable to a large section of its target market.
The responsiveness of quantity demanded of a product to changes in price also helps in setting product price (Bitros & Kyriazis, 2015). The firm will put into consideration price elasticity of demand, which defines how responsive quantity demanded it to change in price, when setting the price to ensure that as many people as possible are capable of purchasing this new product. The compulsory contributions that this firm makes to the state from its profit also help in defining the right price for the product (Samuelson & Marks, 2012).
It would be illegal for this firm to avoid paying tax, a compulsory contribution of a portion of the profits to the government, on its new products. The price set must cover the tax that the government charges this firm. Government regulation on pricing is another very critical issue. The management of GoPro understands that sometimes the government may set a maximum price that a firm can charge on its products (Samuelson & Marks, 2012). Such price controls (a regulation by the government that sets a maximum allowable price that a firm can charge on its products, especially when there is inflation) will also influence the price the company will charge on its new product. However, it is important to note that government currently does not have strict price control on such technological products.
When developing an appropriate price, there is always the dilemma of choosing either a higher rate of stock turnover by charging low prices or high profitability per product by charging high prices. In economics, when the price of products increases, their demand will decrease (Samuelson & Marks, 2012). GoPro must understand this law of demand (it is an economic law which holds that, when all other factors are held constant, when a product’s price is increased, there will be a decrease in its demand, and vice versa) when setting the price for this new product. The firm plans to release two models of GoPro Karma. The proposed price for GoPro Karma Quadcopter with HERO5 Black Model QKWXX-511 is $ 1,099 (Guttman, 2017). The proposed price for GoPro Karma Quadcopter with Harness for HERO5 Black Model QKWXX-015 is $ 799.99 (Guttman, 2017).
The proposed prices are based on the cost of producing a unit product, current market price of similar products offered by other firms, and the purchasing power of the targeted customers.
Place
The place element of the marketing mix is also very important as this firm plans to take its new product to the market. Once the product is manufactured, it must be made physically accessible to customers. GoPro uses leading chain stores such as Wal-Mart to make its products available to the customers. This new product will be made available at all the leading retail stores in North America, Europe, and China.
This strategy helps in reducing the cost of having numerous brick-and-mortar stores in all the major towns where it operates. Online marketing has offered this firm a unique opportunity to offer its products in the global market. Middle Income economies in South America, Asia, and parts of Africa also offer attractive growth opportunity, but it is not economically viable to set up stores in these countries for the new product.
Making this product available for these global customers through its website means that they can purchase it irrespective of their geographical location. Once a client purchases a product and makes payment, the firm will organize the product to be shipped to the desired location of the customer. When this product is launched, the employees will be required to be very committed in terms of ensuring that relevant deliveries are made in time to ensure that customers remain satisfied. The total number hours employees wish to work at a specific real wage rate are important at this stage (Samuelson & Marks, 2012).
The labor supply (labor supply, in economics, refers to the total hours workers are willing to work at a specific rate of real wage) determines how much time these workers will give to specific assignments per week within this firm. It is normal for the employees to be expected to work for more hours during and after the launch of GoPro Karma drone camera. However, the management must be ready to compensate them for the extra hours that they will be putting in to ensure that the targeted success is achieved.
Promotion
Promotion is another issue that the board of directors needs to understand because it will require significant investment. The product is already known in the market because of the promotional campaigns that the firm has put in place to prepare customers for the launch. The use of GoPro brand has particularly been helpful because the brand is known in the market. However, this firm will have to spend more on promotional campaigns before, during, and after the launch. At the moment given that the product is yet to be launched, promotional campaigns will focus on informing customers about the new product, its unique qualities, and what makes it superior to other existing products under other brands.
During and after launch, promotional message will also explain to the customers where a given product can be found in the market, and if possible, the maximum possible selling price. Informing the customers about the price not only makes them know about the product’s affordability but also eliminates cases where cartels may want to exploit unsuspecting customers. When faced with a number of strategies, it is normal for an investor to prefer using an option that has lower risks (Samuelson & Marks, 2012). However, the promotional strategies that will be used by this firm will not be based on risk aversion (risk aversion, in finance and economics, is a human behavioral pattern of trying to reduce uncertainty when exposed to it) but on effectiveness of passing the right information to the target audience.
Implementation and Control
Implementation and control is a very critical stage because it entails putting into practice the plans that the firm has developed based on internal and external environmental factors of the firm. Effective implementation will help this firm achieve the desired success in the market. However, if the project is not implemented properly, then Karma drone camera can have disastrous performance in the market. When implementing this plan, there are specific activities that will have to be carried out in this firm, as explained below.
Market Survey: Local and Global
The first activity before the product is lunched will be to conduct a market survey both at the local and global level. The firm took into consideration the needs of customers in the market when coming up with this product. It will need to confirm from the same customers if the developed product meets their expectation to the desired level. The firm will also need to survey the market to determine what other rival firm’s offer, the prices they set for their products, and the view of customers towards these existing products. The survey will help in determining the most appropriate way of delivering the products to the customers and pricing.
Basis of Segmentation
The market will have to be segmented to help this firm identify the most appropriate segment that it should target once the product is launched. The market will be segmented in two different ways. The first approach of segmentation will be the nature of work of would be purchasers of Karma drone camera. In this context, the segment desirable will be firms specialized in film recording and other forms of data collection. The nature of their work makes them a desirable segment based on the nature of our product. The second basis of segmentation will be on social class and purchasing power. This approach will help the marketing department to identify individual consumers who will be interested in purchasing this product once it is purchased.
Target Market
Clearly identifying the target market helps in coming up with an appropriate product proposition based on the needs of the customers. The primary target market for this product will be film making firms, advertising agencies, media firms, and similar organizations whose nature of work requires them to take films and pictures on a regular basis. Individual consumers are also finding drone cameras relevant in their social lives.
As such the middle upper and upper income earners in the United States and across the world will be another attractive market segment. These customers are not only willing to purchase this product but also have the capacity to do so. The set minimum price for the product makes it undesirable to the low income earners in the country. Once the target market has been identified, it becomes easy to design promotional campaign messages that target the specific customers.
Marketing Strategy
After a market survey, market segmentation, and selection of the target market, the marketing department will need to come up with an appropriate marketing strategy that will enable GoPro Karma drone camera to have a competitive edge over its rivals in the market. It is in the interest of this firm to choose a strategy that is better than any other existing strategy used by other players in the market (Samuelson & Marks, 2012).
The dominant strategy (it is a strategy capable of earning a firm a better payoff than any other strategy irrespective of what other firms do) will enable GoPro to achieve success in a highly competitive market environment. The strategy will ensure that clients’ perception of this new product in shaped in a way that will benefit it. It will require elaborate promotional plan. Planning audio, visual, or audiovisual promotional campaigns that informs the target customers about the existence of this new product is critical (Hill, 2013).
As such, advertising- which is a visual or audio marketing communication- will be a critical aspect of marketing as soon as the product is launched. Both the social media and mass media will be critical platforms for advertisement. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube will help in reaching out to the youths who are likely going to be attracted to this product. As the owners of this company, it is likely that the shareholders will prefer avoiding loss to acquiring equivalent gains (Maheshwari, 2012). Loss aversion (in decision theory, it refers to tendency of entities to prefer avoidance of losses to acquiring equivalent gain) will be an integral part of the firm’s strategy when launching Karma drone. The chosen strategy will help eliminating obvious risks
Strategic Alliance
The initial attempt to form alliance with 3D Robotics and Mavic Pro did not work out as planned. However, the market forces require this company to form strategic alliance with likeminded firms to achieve greater success. Sometimes even when it is in the interest of both parties, two firms may fail to cooperate in the market (Carbaugh, 2017). This prisoner’s dilemma (the concept explains why two rational entities may fail to cooperate even in situations where doing so would benefit both of them) was witnessed when GoPro was unable to work with 3D Robotics in developing Karma drone although both firms would have benefited from the deal.
The management of this firm noted that in the planned transactions between these two firms, 3D Robotics had better information than GoPro, a fact that created an imbalance of power in the relationship (Samuelson & Marks, 2012). The asymmetric information created, which a situation where one party has better information than others, made it difficult for these two firms to work together. Having identified the forces that made previous attempts to have strategic alliance fail, the firm will need to find ways of addressing them so that it can be ready to work with other firms.
Financial Analysis (Budgeting)
The board of directors is interested in understanding the financials of this new project before approving the required expenses. The project must bring financial benefits to the shareholders. Examining the additional benefits of a given project compared to additional costs associated with it helps in determining its viability (Samuelson & Marks, 2012). The marginal analysis (it is the process of examining additional benefits of a given activity when compared against additional costs the firm has incurred when undertaking them) is critical in determining whether this new project (Karma drone) is worth the costs associated with it or not.
It is expected that once launched, this product will increase shareholders’ value in terms of high profitability in the market. The management understands that other projects have been suspended because of this Karma drone project. Understanding loss of a potential gain that would have been derived from the other alternative projects not chosen is critical (McEachern, 2013). Analysis of the opportunity cost (loss of potential gain that would have been earned from other alternatives that were not chosen when a given alternative was preferred) makes it possible to determine how Karma Project compares with other potential projects that GoPro may want to launch in the near future. It is also true that at this stage, GoPro has spent much on this project.
The board of directors needs to understand that there are sunk costs, which refers to the costs which have already been incurred and may not be recovered even if the project is not implemented (Samuelson & Marks, 2012). The sunk costs, especially in terms of market research and product development, can only be recovered if this project is implemented and becomes profitable. The following is a mini-budget that will be needed for promotional purposes before the product is launched officially in the market.
Table 1: Proposed budget.
It is important to note that the proposed budget is subject to the approval of the board of directors because it is expected to release the funds needed. The budget covers promotional activities within the last few weeks to the day of launching the product. Print media, radio and television, and social media platforms will be used to reach out to the clients in the market. The plan is to ensure that when the product is finally released in the market, it will have a strong brand of its own associated with GoPro as the mother brand. Customers should be fully aware of this product, its unique features, and factors that make it superior to what other firms offer.
Expected Challenges and Mitigation Plans
When this firm finally launches GoPro Karma drone camera, it is expected that some challenges will emerge that must be dealt with to normalize the firm’s operations. The biggest challenge that this firm will have to face not only in the local but also in the international markets is stiff competition. Currently, a number of Chinese firms have entered the local market, increasing the level of competitiveness in the industry.
In Europe and Asia, other players struggle for the same market share. As technology keeps advancing, the cost of making drone cameras will decrease and the process will become simpler than it is currently. As such, it is expected that the competition will be even stiffer in the near future. Ability to deal with this problem will determine whether GoPro Karma drone camera will be a success in the market.
Another major challenge that the company will have to deal with is the growing cases of theft of intellectual property, especially in China (Schmidt & Thompson, 2016). Some unscrupulous companies have embraced a bad practice of copying the designs of the product of other firms and coming up with their own products which are very similar to that of the rivals. This problem is closely related to piracy, where another firms develop similar products and use the name of the parent company without any approvals.
Customers in the market will think that they are using GoPro Karma drone camera, but the truth is that what they have is a counterfeit. Counterfeiting is a major problem in many Asian markets and GoPro will have to find a way of dealing with it. This is so because these counterfeited products are often of lesser quality. When customers complain of the low quality of the product, the brand image of GoPro Karma will be affected. Customers may stop trusting products carrying this brand and that may push this firm out of the market given the stiff competition that is expected in the near future. A number other problems may arise such as the functionality of the product or customers’ complaint.
The most important thing is that the management must be ready to mitigate the challenges that may arise during and after the launch. Timely and effective response to the challenges may help avert negative consequences that might arise. The management must be rational and must use facts and analysis when making decisions (Samuelson & Marks, 2012). Six steps of decision-making (it is a detailed process of selecting a cause of action from several alternatives based on internal factors and external environmental forces) will, therefore, be very important when mitigating the challenges that this firm may face.
When using this concept, the following are the steps that should be followed irrespective of the nature of the problem. This model can be used to solve any of the above challenges. It identifies specific steps that must be taken to ensure that the root cause of the problem is determined before coming up with a comprehensive plan on how to address it. For instance, one of the main challenges that the management expects once this product is launched in the market is stiff competition from rival firms such as Mavic Pro. The steps below can be used to address the problem based on the above concept.
Defining the problem
The first step is to identify the problem. Identifying the problem makes it possible for decision-makers to know what they are dealing with at a given moment. One of the main challenges expected in the market is stiff competition from rival firms. The focus of the management will be to find ways of managing stiff competition posed by these market rivals.
Generate alternatives
The next step is to come up with alternative solutions that can be used to manage the identified problem. Competition in the market has been identified as a major challenge. GoPro can use differentiation, price leadership, or a combination of the two strategies. Developing a number of possible strategies makes it possible to select the most appropriate strategy. It also makes it easy to come up with an alternative cause of action in case the initial strategy fails to yield the desired results.
Evaluate alternatives
The management will then evaluate the alternatives with the view of selecting the one that is most appropriate based on the external and internal environmental factors. The management is expected to evaluate each of the strategies, looking at their advantages and disadvantages. The evaluation of alternatives makes it easy to identify the most appropriate strategy.
Make the decision
It is important to select a decision that is most suitable based on the firm’s core competencies and industry forces. As a firm keen on avoiding price wars, differentiation strategy would be the most appropriate strategy. The strategy will enable this firm to come up with unique products in the market that can enable it avoid price wars
Implement the decision
Once the management decides that it shall use differentiation as its primary strategy in the market, the next important phase is to implement the strategy. The production department must understand customers’ expectations and then come up with products that meet these needs in a very unique manner. Karma has proven to be a unique product and the firm expects that it will offer this firm competitive edge over its market rivals.
Evaluate results
The final stage is the evaluation of the results after using the strategy. In this case, the management will evaluate how well this strategy has enabled it to overcome stiff market competition. It will look at both the popularity and profitability of the product in the market when using this product. If both the popularity and profitability are impressive, then the strategy will be considered effective, otherwise the firm may need to reconsider the use of the strategy. The management must remain vigilant enough to identify these problems before it can be too late. The response must be timely and based on a clearly defined plan.
Ethics and Sustainability
When launching GoPro Karma drone camera, the management must understand that it has ethical responsibility to its customers, suppliers, environment, government, and the public. The firm’s desire to increase its revenues and profitability should not be at the expense of their customers or any of the stakeholders. Its actions should always be in the best interest of all the stakeholders. In its strategic alliance, this company will be keen to avoid conspiracies against clients, government, or other relevant stakeholders (Samuelson & Marks, 2012). Such collusions (an illegal or secretive conspiracy or cooperation between two or more entities with the primary aim of deceiving other entities) may not be sustainable in the long run. They may also end up creating legal problems for this company.
It is immoral for one to take greater risks at the expense of others because it is a sign of lack of good faith (Bitros & Kyriazis, 2015). The management will, therefore, avoid moral hazard- a situation where one deliberately takes excessive risks knowing that others will pay the costs- as a way of protecting the interest of the other stakeholders and enhancing the firm’s sustainability. The focus should not be to earn quick profits but to create a long-lasting mutually beneficial relationship with all the stakeholders, including employees, to enhance sustainability in the firm’s operations. The United States has set the lowest wage that a firm can pay its employees (Samuelson & Marks, 2012).
It is ethically and legally necessary for GoPro to observe the minimum wage (it refers to the lowest allowable wage that a firm can pay its employees as per the set laws, regulations, or special agreement between employers and labor unions) policies. Ignoring such policies may not only bring confrontation between the firm and its employees but may also subject the company to legal actions.
Conclusion
GoPro has come up with a brand new product, GoPro Karma drone camera that is capable of taking aerial pictures and videos. This aerial camera is controlled remotely and can travel several miles to collect pictures or record videos. The firm is planning to launch the product in the global market, but before doing so, the board of directors needs to approve the project. This report has provided a detailed analysis of the industry where this firm operates.
Analysis of the company and of the product has also been conducted to ensure that the directors are able to understand the uniqueness of the new product and company’s capabilities that will enable it achieve success with the Karma drone camera, and challenges which are expected. The report has also provided a detailed analysis of the implementation strategy, especially marketing approaches that will be used to reach out to the target audience. Ethical and legal considerations are also analyzed in the report.
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