Introduction
The goal of this paper is to dissect the nature of the problem-solving approach at the Yahoo! Company and locate the strategies that could have been used to save the company from its ultimate demise. Although Yahoo has not been erased from the IT market radars yet, the organization has definitely experienced a significant downfall after its failure to introduce the principles of an innovation-driven problem-solving strategy. The fact that the company’s leadership has made several ethically questionable and economically dubious statements has not helped Yahoo’s position in the market, either (Aagaard, 2017). Therefore, the purpose of the paper is to analyze what went askew at Yahoo and determine possible risk management approaches that could have salvaged the company.
The paper is geared primarily toward the exploration of the impact that innovative thinking and innovation-based problem solving, in general, have on a company’s performance and position in the global market. Specifically, the situation that Yahoo! is currently facing is considered in the paper. Therefore, the intended audience includes people interested in business management and effective leadership, particularly, employee empowerment through the promotion of innovative thinking,
Analysis of the Problem
The situation currently observed at Yahoo did not appear out of the blue; instead, numerous erroneous decisions have been accumulating for years before reaching the critical point at which the company has entered the phase of decay. In retrospect, the lack of focus on continuous innovation combined with misplaced organizational values resulting in poor motivation levels in employees has caused the downshift of the organization (Bos-Nehles, Renkema, & Janssen, 2017).
The lack of consistency in organizational ethics and the unwillingness of its leaders to forecast and apply changes to the organizational context to improve its performative aspects can be deemed as the foundational cause of Yahoo’s downfall (Goel, 2016). According to recent reports, the choices that Yahoo’s leader has been making in regard to the management of ethical concerns were described as dubious, at best (Goel, 2016). The described model of organizational behavior must have had its toll on employees and their attitudes toward organizational issues, causing a drop in quality.
The second-largest issue that Yahoo has failed to address concerns the introduction of innovative solutions into its environment and workplace. While the line of decision-making that the company chose at the time of its conception was novel and allowed redefining the industry, it has worn out it’s welcome long since the firm entered the global market (Trautman & Ormerod, 2016). However, instead of incorporating innovative solutions into its decision-making and production process, as rivals such as Microsoft and Google have been doing, Yahoo
Creative Ideas for Problem Solving
Employee Empowerment
At this point, the concept of architectural innovation has to be interwoven into the analytical narrative to locate the approaches toward managing the current issues at Yahoo. From a theoretical perspective, architectural innovation can be seen as the middle ground between the two extremes of incremental and disruptive innovation as the methods of integrating novel ideas into the organizational setting.
The current definition of architectural innovation presents the subject matter as the corporate change that allows “redefining the overall design of the product or process” (Hofman, Halman, & Van Looy, 2016). In turn, Yahoo is in desperate need of a change in its approach toward key organizational processes. Therefore, the incorporation of architectural innovation as the platform on which the company’s further framework for operating in the global IT market will be built is indispensable for improving Yahoo’s current market position.
However, the described alterations in the organizational framework and the way in which the key processes within the firm are structured are bound to be faced with suspicion, at best, and resistance, at worst, from staff members. Thus, tools for problem-solving at Yahoo must include strategies for addressing resistance to change as one of the main roadblocks on the way to organizational and performative success. The described issue should be managed by increasing employee and employer engagement levels.
While the former has been integrated into the functioning of numerous companies in the global IT market, the latter is often forgotten or neglected (Goel, 2016). However, employer engagement is a critical aspect of the HRM process geared toward the increase in employees’ motivation (Obeidat, Tawalbeh, Masa’deh, & Akour, 2019). Allowing staff members to feel that they are valued, their input is appreciated, and they are deemed as an inseparable part of the organization, the described notion has to be incorporated into the Yahoo setting.
The proposed strategy aligns with the foundational tenets of critical motivation theories. Specifically, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs supports the suggested technique, with the emphasis being placed on not only the physical well-being of employees guaranteed by the benefit package but also their emotional and professional aspirations, including the chance to self-actualize through continuous learning.
Interdisciplinary collaboration
Moreover, changes in the approach toward collaboration have to be changed at Yahoo. The company is currently based on the principles of a rigid organizational hierarchy, which hampers the process of information management and obscures corporate goals (Goel, 2016). The integration of a more flexible corporate hierarchy will allow staff members to transfer data more effectively. Moreover, the process of assigning tasks and roles to employees will be simplified to a significant extent.
Thus, dismantling the current corporate hierarchy to encourage better management of data is needed. Furthermore, the described alteration to Yahoo’s framework of managing relationships between staff members and managers will allow for interdisciplinary cooperation, which, in turn, will spur the efficiency of its performance, in general. As soon as the idea of collaborative critical thinking and creative analysis is introduced into Yahoo’s settings, the company will transfer to the notion of innovative problem-solving.
Organizational Philosophy
In order to address the change, one will have to challenge the existing corporate values, ethics, and standards for performance. As recent evidence has shown, the issue of ethical behavior has become a particularly notorious concern for Yahoo (Qureshi & Kashif 2017). Therefore, dismantling the current code of ethics and introducing a new one that will embrace the notions of multiculturalism, tolerance, and acceptance will be required. It would be wrong to believe that the specified step will automatically invalidate every ethical mistake that the company and its leaders have made so far. However, it will reassure the target audience, including potential buyers and investors, that Yahoo is ready to make a drastic change that will affect its choices, organizational performance, and product quality.
To introduce a set of new organizational values and standards into the corporate setting, the company’s leaders will have to redesign the existing set of ethical standards, amplifying the significance of using the principles of Utilitarianism as the principal ethical framework that implies maximizing the utility of the output (Bamber, Bartram, & Stanton, 2017). In other words, the satisfaction of the stakeholders that depend on the performance of the company, including employees, customers, suppliers, and other participants, have to be placed at the top of the company’s priorities list. Changes in the attitudes toward participants are likely to entail alterations in the latter’s perception of their work and the development of a responsible and ethical attitude toward it.
The process of altering the corporate values and encouraging the company to shift to a different set of standards, which, in this case, can be described as the transition to the philosophy based on innovation, can be performed with the help of Kotter’s eight-step model of change. The identified approach suggests that the change management procedure should be split into eight steps that lead to the institutionalization of change.
In Yahoo’s case, the process will simply introduce a strong leadership system based on the idea of innovativeness and the focus on talent management as the main method of increasing the company’s competitive advantage. Subjecting the organization to scrutiny, one will realize that even with the recent change in its CEO, the firm has been lacking strong leadership and a general sense of purpose that follows it (Goel, 2016). Therefore, the redesign of the existing organizational philosophy should start with the creation of a set of goals and milestones that will serve as the criteria for accomplishing the goals in question. The described step can be represented as the first stage of change according to Kotter’s model.
The second step, which Kotter defines as the creation of a guiding team, will imply focusing on the staff members that will be more perceptive to change than others. Thus, a group of agents that will encourage change in the corporate context will be created. The people in question will reinforce the principles of innovation and ethical decision-making in the organizational context, creating an atmosphere of support and focus on workplace tasks (Alos-Simo, Verdu-Jover, & Gomez-Gras, 2017).
Combined with incentives for increased performance and improved output, which, in Yahoo’s case, will involve the creation of projects geared by the concept of change, such as the creation of applications allowing for direct contact with customers, and the implementation of these projects.
The third step, which suggests building vision, will have to encourage employees to participate actively in creating a shared corporate philosophy. Thus, the sense of unity will foster the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility and innovative thinking in staff members, prompting an increase in employee engagement rates. The described step should be followed immediately by the fourth one, which suggests communicating for buy-in (Appelbaum, Profka, Depta, & Petrynski, 2018).
Thus, employees will receive feedback consistently, which will establish reciprocity in employee-manager relations and prompt an increased quality of staff’s performance. The described step should include setting clear criteria for performance and introduce staff members to the strategies that will allow them to build an innovative perspective and a respective decision-making strategy.
The fifth step, which suggests empowering action, will imply the use of incentives as the method of building motivation and enthusiasm. The creation of short-term wins as the following step may suggest setting minor milestones in the performance of a team, yet it may also incorporate the elements of employees’ personal progress. For instance, the acquisition of specific competencies after completing a corresponding training course can be seen as a short-term win once acknowledged and recognized by the organization (Aagaard, 2017). Thus, staff members at Yahoo will feel empowered to take the initiative and introduce innovative ideas into the organizational context.
The seventh stage of change implementation, which requires managers not to let up employees, should be implemented by enhancing the feedback system within Yahoo and using the communication channel for managers and company leaders to deliver essential information to employees and receive feedback to further respond to it. Thus, the continuity of the organizational dialogue will be maintained, which will make staff members feel valued and appreciated as a part of the organization.
Finally, the institutionalization of change should be considered as the essential step to take for Yahoo to gain the necessary competitive advantage and improve its performance aspects. The described task can be accomplished by introducing a rigid reporting system and conducting assessments of the efficacy of staff’s work and general progress. As a result, Yahoo can improve its current status significantly.
When considering the effects of the proposed change, one will need to realize that the specified steps will not take Yahoo to the top of the market; instead, they will help the organization to improve its current performance and reduce the extent of losses that it has been taking, with the possibility for increasing its profit margins following in the future. The introduction of an innovation-driven philosophy will only serve as the tool for constructing a competitive advantage that will let the firm attract the attention of its customers. In addition to building the levels of employee and employer engagement, yahoo will also have to invest in the search for innovative solutions to IT-related issues, thus redirecting its financial assets to the R&D department.
Moreover, the enhancement of the current supply chain management system and improving project management techniques will be needed. However, to accomplish the described goals and accommodate its audience with a rebranded identity, Yahoo will require a change in its problem-solving framework, which, in turn, suggests a shift in the current HRM perspective and the promotion of employee engagement coupled with initiative-driven philosophy and talent management. Thus, the firm will be able to regain some amount of influence in the IT market.
Conclusion
Due to the lack of focus on innovation as the leading principle in advancing an organization in the global market, yahoo has suffered significant negative changes and has experienced a rapid downfall, losing a substantial amount of its influence. As a result, the firm is currently suffering from the inability to meet the standards set by its competitors, which could be addressed by introducing the concept of innovation into its organizational and production-related framework. By basing the corporate problem-solving processes on the concept of innovation, Yahoo would be able to increase the extent of employee engagement that it can currently boast.
However, the integration of innovativeness as the basis for problem-solving should not be restricted to employee relations and communication. While the specified domains have to be addressed first for the organization to regain its competitive advantage and develop the resources and assets to thrive in the global IT market, the firm will also have to incorporate innovativeness into its corporate philosophy. The described goal can be implemented by considering the principles of Kotler’s Model of Change and including the concepts of Total Quality Management and the ideas of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into its framework for HRM.
However, by far the most important step in the outlined direction concerns redefining the organization’s approach toward establishing its leadership standards. Due to the bad publicity that the organization used to receive under the guidance of its former leader, Yahoo is still struggling to establish the value system that its staff members could uphold as an ethically efficient one. However, with the integration of a people-oriented approach and the promotion of values associated with excellence in performance, the organization could recover some of its former glory.
References
Aagaard, A. (2017). Facilitating radical front‐end innovation through targeted HRM practices: A case study of pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 34(4), 427-449.
Alos-Simo, L., Verdu-Jover, A. J., & Gomez-Gras, J. M. (2017). How transformational leadership facilitates e-business adoption. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 117(2), 382-397.
Appelbaum, S. H., Profka, E., Depta, A. M., & Petrynski, B. (2018). Impact of business model change on organizational success. Industrial and Commercial Training, 50(2), 41-54.
Bamber, G. J., Bartram, T., & Stanton, P. (2017). HRM and workplace innovations: Formulating research questions. Personnel Review, 46(7), 1216-1227.
Bos-Nehles, A., Renkema, M., & Janssen, M. (2017). HRM and innovative work behaviour: A systematic literature review. Personnel Review, 46(7), 1228-1253.
Goel, V. (2016). Yahoo’s brain drain shows a loss of faith inside the company. The New York Times. Web.
Hofman, E., Halman, J. I., & Looy, B. V. (2016). Do design rules facilitate or complicate architectural innovation in innovation alliance networks? Research Policy, 45(7), 1436–1448.
Obeidat, B., Tawalbeh, H. F., Masa’deh, R. E., & Akour, M. A. (2019). Reviewing the literature among Human Resource Management (HRM) practices, Total Quality Management (TQM) practices and competitive advantages. Journal of Social Sciences (COES&RJ-JSS), 8(2), 327-358.
Qureshi, M. R. J., & Kashif, M. (2017). Adaptive framework to manage multiple teams using agile methodologies. International Journal of Modern Education and Computer Science, 9(1), 52.
Trautman, L. J., & Ormerod, P. C. (2016). Corporate directors’ and officers’ cybersecurity standard of care: The Yahoo data breach. American University of Law Review, 66, 1231.