...Cisco Systems Uses Its Culture for Competitive Advantage Case Study 1. What are the observable artifacts, espoused values, and basic assumptions associated with Cisco’s culture? Explain. The above terms are also known as the three fundamental layers of organizational culture, each varying in outward visibility and resistance to change an each level influences another level. Observable artifacts are the most visible and also cosist of the physical manifestation of an organization’s culture (Kreitner and Kinicki,2010, pg.65). An example of this when the CEO John Chambers uses just three words to describe the benefits of the San Jose networking giant’s management system: “speed, skill, and flexibility.” This is relates a published list of values by Cisco. Another example is with Manny Rivelo, a senior vice president at Cisco Systems, that 70% of his compensation is based on the council’s ability to meet revenue targets and collaborate. As to espoused values, they represent the explicitly stated values and norms that are preferred by an organization. In Cisco’s case, it was Chambers’ idea originated by a loss of $2.2 billion loss in 2001, which involves grouping executives into cross-functional teams. This concept would lead to faster decision making. Basic assumptions are unobservable and represent the core of organizational culture. I feel that Rivelo’s one quote sums of the basic assumptin for Cisco, “I’m on a litany of them-three councils, maybe six boards, and five working...
Words: 330 - Pages: 2
...1. What are the observable artifacts, espoused values, and basic assumptions associated with Cisco’s culture? Explain. The above terms are also known as the three fundamental layers of organizational culture, each varying in outward visibility and resistance to change an each level influences another level. Observable artifacts are the most visible and also cosist of the physical manifestation of an organization’s culture (Kreitner and Kinicki,2010, pg.65). An example of this when the CEO John Chambers uses just three words to describe the benefits of the San Jose networking giant’s management system: “speed, skill, and flexibility.” This is relates a published list of values by Cisco. Another example is with Manny Rivelo, a senior vice president at Cisco Systems, that 70% of his compensation is based on the council’s ability to meet revenue targets and collaborate. As to espoused values, they represent the explicitly stated values and norms that are preferred by an organization. In Cisco’s case, it was Chambers’ idea originated by a loss of $2.2 billion loss in 2001, which involves grouping executives into cross-functional teams. This concept would lead to faster decision making. Basic assumptions are unobservable and represent the core of organizational culture. I feel that Rivelo’s one quote sums of the basic assumptin for Cisco, “I’m on a litany of them-three councils, maybe six boards, and five working groups”, suggests that being involved in numerous groups makes the...
Words: 1182 - Pages: 5
...Cisco Systems (2001): Building and Sustaining a Customer-Centric Culture Introduction/General Problem Statement: Doug Allred was Vice President of Customer Advocacy organization of the Cisco’s corporation. This organization was erected to consolidated all functions that directly touched the customer but sales to provide high-quality customer service. Since August 2001, the IT market turned down and brought severe challenges to Cisco as the company had to lay off 18% of its employees and reorganized its structure, transforming from decentralized organizational structure with three business units to centralized organization. However, these changes stabilized the volatile situation of the economy but threatened Cisco’s customer focus, a key element of its competitive advantage and a principle of its core operating processes. In order to overcome the disharmony between the structure and the culture, Cisco introduced a Customer Focus Initiative to hold the favor of its key customers. Nevertheless, Allred had no confidence that this action would fix the perceived gap between the structure and the culture. Situation Analysis: The main problem in this case is that how to keep enough resources to be used on the customer focus, which is the core component of the Cisco Company, under the reintegrated decentralized structure. At the beginning of the establishment of Cisco, Lerner, who is one of the founders, “realized that success was developing cutting-edge technology that...
Words: 1711 - Pages: 7
...Problem definition Cisco Systems Inc. is one of the leading companies operating in the telecommunication industry. At the present moment, the company has a strong position in the world market and actively develops its business targeting at the wider implementation of new technologies. In fact, the company was traditionally oriented on the introduction of innovations and nowadays it is still focused on the development of new technologies which can improve the position of the company in the market and guarantee its leadership in the future. In such a situation, Cisco Systems Inc. develops its corporate strategy, which basically targets at the acquisition of smaller companies which a great potential and have developments which could be very perspective in the future. One of such companies is Summa Four, which Cisco Systems Inc. wants to acquire. In this respect, it should be said that the acquisition of the new company will inevitably pose certain difficulties Cisco Systems Inc. will have to overcome. Even though the company has a huge experience of acquisitions, since the company has launched the strategy of acquisition since the early 1990s, the acquisition of Summa Four is different from the acquisition of any other company Cisco Systems has ever bided for before. To put it more precisely, as a rule Cisco Systems Inc. acquired companies which were small and did not possess significant manufacturing facilities. Basically, such acquisitions were rather investment in the human...
Words: 1421 - Pages: 6
...Routing the Path to End-To-End Communication An Analysis of Cisco Systems and how the use of Information Technology gave them a Competitive Advantage Mira Vissell ISM 158 Business Analysis Paper March 4th, 2004 Table of Contents Objective Section I: Industry Summary: An Analysis of Network Equipment Industry A. Industry Profile B. Competitive Strategies within the Industry C. Porter Model Evaluation of Industry Forces D. Globalization of the Industry E. Importance of Information Technology in the Industry Section II: Company Perspective: An Analysis of Cisco Systems A. Cisco Systems profile B. Market and Financial Performance C. Competitive Strategy Statement D. Significance of Information and Information Systems E. Strengths and Weaknesses of Cisco Section III: Structured Analysis of Information System Use A. Strategic Option Generator B. Roles, Roles and Relationships C. Redefine/define D. Significance of Telecommunications E. Success Factor Profile Section IV: A Final Analysis of the Success of Cisco Systems A. The Success of Business Strategy and IT used to Date B. The Effective Position of the Company for Future Performance Bibliography Objective The objective of this paper is to analyze how Cisco Systems gained competitive advantage in the networking industry through the use of information systems and key business strategies. ...
Words: 9306 - Pages: 38
...Background In 1995, John Chambers joined Cisco Systems as president and CEO. After six years under the supervision of Chambers, the company went from generating $2.2 billion in annual sales to $22.3 billion. As a result of the market downturn in 2001, the company suffered its first loss and laid off 18% of its workforce. Chambers quickly realized Cisco was in need of significant organizational restructuring if Cisco were to survive and thrive the downtown. This change shifted the company from a decentralized firm that only focused its three work silos of Marketing, Engineering and Sales to segregated and specific customer groups to a centralized firm that focused on collaboration and relevant technologies for given customer groups. This shift in organizational restructuring significantly reduced product and resource redundancies – a major contributing success factor for Cisco’s market position today. The Problem The implementation of the cross-functional business councils greatly strengthened both Cisco’s competitive position as well as their organizational culture. However, Cisco now faces the problem of how to sustain and implement the new internal governance system across new and expanding business lines within the company in addition to maintaining the new collaborative culture while retaining its customer-centricity focus. Adjustments will need to be made to ensure that systems can be scaled to address new market transitions. The three councils that were originally...
Words: 1888 - Pages: 8
...as strategies, technologies, and process improvement methodologies; meeting with senior DoD officials, Congressional delegates, business executives, etc; as well as taking part in a one-week graduate-level business overview provided by the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. Following the fellows’ corporate assignment, formal outbriefs are provided to approximately forty senior leaders across OSD and the Services regarding their observations and recommendations. Traditionally, these outbriefs include sessions with the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Service Secretaries and Chiefs, as well as other senior officials. As a member of the 2004-2005 SDCFP, it was an honor and pleasure to be assigned at Cisco Systems in San Jose, CA. Without exception, the men and women...
Words: 13774 - Pages: 56
...Assignment 2: Human Resource Strategy BUS 508 May 16, 2015 Assignment 2: Human Resource Strategy Good Human Resource strategies are imperative for any organization to successfully meet its ultimate goals. This case study will discuss the mission, vision and Human Resource strategies of Burns and McDonnell and Cisco Systems and analyze how both companies can improve their strategies to help them excel in their industries. Compare and contrast the two (2) industries you have identified in terms of size, products, services, customers, economic and regulatory environment. Burns & McDonnell is an engineering design company with more than 5,000 employees (“About Us,” 2015). The company provides engineering, architecture, construction and consulting services for health care, aviation, defense and utilities markets (“About Us,”,2015). Burns & McDonnell is not a product company. It is an engineering company that designs solutions for clients. Some examples include boiler design and installation, building a cellulosic biorefining plant, and design of a microbiology lab. Their customers include healthcare industry companies, power energy companies, aviation companies, IT and construction companies, including clients like Duke Energy, American Airlines and the U.S. Navy (“Burns & McDonnell,” 2015). Burns & McDonnell is part of several governing security regulatory boards. The company's regulatory environment includes Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards, Emissions...
Words: 2051 - Pages: 9
...integration process? Re: Acquiring other companies is an important strategy for Cisco to rapidly offer new products, reach new markets, and grow revenue. Cisco strengths were its large scale production reaching to large customer base, good reputation, and good financing capabilities. However, unlike other networking companies Cisco doesn’t always develop new technologies on it own and have to rely on acquisition. Cisco acquisition selection should the meet criteria to ensure it meets its acquisition objectives- the companies should have compatible vision for industry and product perspective, share complementary culture, produce short and long term benefits to Cisco shareholders and company should be geographically located close to Cisco. While, for smother acquisition integration Cisco should setup consistent and adaptable product, personnel and manufacturing acquisition process and at the same time continually refine the process from the lessons learned. Q2. Does the Cisco’s process adequately address the challenges of the Summa Four acquisition? Re: Summa Four was a leading provider of programmable switches which will enable Cisco to offer value- added telephony applications to new and existing service providers. Due to the deregulation of the telecommunications industry, service providers were in a competitive race to develop and deliver these types of enhanced services to their customers. Cisco announced it would acquire the Manchester, New Hampshire—based company in...
Words: 307 - Pages: 2
...and Objectives 22 Project Deliverables 26 Project Plan and Timelines 27 References 28 Appendix 1: Competency Matrix 4 Capstone Proposal Summary Internet of Everything (IoE) and “Big Data” equates to competitive advantages to the modern business landscape. Numerous white papers are circulating on the Internet highlighting the business case supporting the IoE initiative. For instance, in a white paper conducted by Cisco Inc. on the Value Index of IoE in 2013 reported the following: In February 2013, Cisco released a study predicting that $14.4 trillion of value (net profit) will be at stake globally over the next decade, driven by connecting the unconnected –people-to-people (P2P), machine-to-people (M2P), and machine-to-machine (M2M) - via the Internet of Everything (IoE). Cisco defines the Internet of Everything as the networked connection of people, process, data, and things. The IoE creates new “capabilities, richer experiences, and unprecedented economic opportunity for businesses, individuals, and countries” (The Internet of Everything, Cisco, Inc. 2014). With such a lofty goal looming, and the monetary potential, many sources will support the notion of companies scrambling to achieve a computing networking infrastructure that supports the IoE paradigm. Envisioning the potentials, ABC Inc. does not want to experience losses common to companies that hold to that wait and see rationale which have plagued many IT service providers in the past. However...
Words: 5523 - Pages: 23
...* Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in San Jose, California, that designs, manufactures, and sells networking equipment. It was founded in 1984; 31 years ago, in San Francisco by Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner. The Current CEO is Chuck Robbins and their Headquarters is in San Jose, California, US. They operate worldwide and provide Tech for many companies and public households. USP: Cisco Sys's experimentations yield new products and services that outpace competitive threats They have over 30 different products in markets such as: * Networking Devices * Network Management * Cisco IOS and NX-OS Software * Interface and Module * Optical networking * Storage area networks * Wireless, Telepresence, VOIP, Security * Datacentres In 2014 Cisco Systems, Inc. made US$ 47.142 billion in revenue (a drop from 2013) “The Human Network” This was a big effort by Cisco during the early to mid-2000’s to enter into and have a bigger presence in the household consumer market. Throughout the mid-2000s, Cisco also built a significant presence in India, establishing its Globalization Centre East in Bengaluru for $1 billion, and planning that 20% of Cisco's leaders would be based there. However, Cisco continued to be challenged by both domestic Alcatel-Lucent, Juniper Networks and overseas competitors Huawei. Due to lower-than-expected profit in 2011, Cisco was forced to reduce annual expenses by $1 billion...
Words: 480 - Pages: 2
...Company Report Cisco Systems, Inc. Executive summary This is a description of Cisco System, Inc because it is listed as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For”. The company has also increased its ranking from 90 to 42 in 2013. This has made it a respected company in the world due to its customer relations and it has been able to hold the market competitively. The owners, Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner, grew the business get it from an office connection service into the business world connecting many institutions and government organizations. Therefore, it is a good example with a rich product line, and a good understanding of its success is helpful. Cisco Company Cisco is one of the best companies all over the world with the best services and Corporate Social Responsibilities programs offered to its employees and the community. This has improved its reputation and success because it attracts many customers, due to the many products it offers. This report discusses the company and its successful products as well as the employees and their working environment. Company overview Cisco is a multinational corporation involved in designing, developing and selling many different types of networking equipment. It is an American company started in 1984 with its headquarters in San Jose, California. It has many qualified employees amounting to 64,000 who work around the world producing quality products. It has more than fifteen products and competes with more...
Words: 932 - Pages: 4
...COMPANY Case Cisco Systems: Solving Business Problems Through Collaboration Perhaps you’ve heard of Cisco Systems. It’s the company that runs those catchy “Human Network” ads. It also produces those familiar Linksys wireless Internet routers and owns Pure Digital Technologies, the company that makes the trendy Flip video cameras. But most of what Cisco sells is not for regular consumers like you and me. Cisco is a tried and true B-to-B company. In fact, it earned honors as BtoB magazine’s 2009 “marketer of the year.” Three-quarters of Cisco’s sales are in routers, switches, and advanced network technologies—the things that keep data moving around cyberspace 24/7. But over the past decade, in addition to all that hardware, Cisco has pioneered the next generation of Internet networking tools, from cybersecurity to set-top boxes to videoconferencing. But this story is about much more than just a tech giant that makes equipment and software that companies need to run their Internet and intranet activities. It’s about a forward-thinking firm that has transitioned from a manufacturer to a leadership consultancy. To make that happen, Cisco has perfected one major concept that seems to drive both its own business and its interactions with customer organizations—collaboration. Cisco is all about collaborating with its clients in order to help those clients better collaborate employees, suppliers, partners, and customers. COLLABORATION WITHIN AND WITHOUT John Chambers became...
Words: 2003 - Pages: 9
...Analysis of Cisco Systems by Steven Levchenko TABLE OF CONTENTS: Objective I. Network Communications Industry Summary a. Industry Profile b. Typical Industry Competitive Strategy c. Porter Model Evaluation d. Globalization of the Industry e. Importance of I/T to the Industry II. The Cisco Company a. Cisco Systems Company Profile b. Business Leaders c. Competitive Strategy Statement d. Market and Financial Performance e. Significance of Information Systems f. Strengths and Weaknesses of Cisco III. Structured Analysis of Information Systems Use at Cisco Systems a. Strategic Option Generator b. Roles, Roles and Relationships c. Redefine/Define d. Significance of Telecommunications e. Success Factor Profile IV Final Analysis a. Success of Business Strategy and I/T Use to Date b. Have the Above factors positioned them for the Future? Bibliography OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper is to provide: an analysis of Cisco Systems using various elements developed by Michael Porter as well as concepts from Jack Callon’s book: “Competitive Advantage Through Information Technology.” The structure of the paper is as follows: Section I focuses on the Network Communications industry (hereby referred to as NetCom industry.) It will define the industry, its environment and its actors, and how the actors compete with each other. Section II’s focus is entirely on Cisco, its history...
Words: 10174 - Pages: 41
...Manuel Lira Case Analysis Ciscos Systems Uses its culture for competetive Advantage The observable artifacts, spoused values and assumptions associated with Cisco. Explain Ciscos observable artifact in the reading is that in order to explain how the organization web dreamed up by CEO John Chambers it would take them fifteen minutes and a white board to fully explain. However Manny Rivelo says that in three words it is “speed, skill, and flexibility". Throughout the reading he talks about the development it took for the company to go under after they had a loss of 2.2 billion. The espoused values that helped the company move forward were that Ciscos began to group executives into cross-functional teams. This made everybody uncomfortable and it was bumpy down the years but it finally paid off with success. This is very important because in a business a manager or CEO must know when it’s time for change and must apply change. For example my dad runs a soccer shop which started out from our basement. He sold stuff from home to people in the local soccer leagues and was recognized as the man to go to for any soccer apparel. After about ten years he finally decided it was time to open up a shop so he started out with a small local business. This was helping our business grow but only to a certain extent because people were coming in and seeing our products but the store was really small that they would only be in there for a little bit then they saw their way out. This was showing...
Words: 420 - Pages: 2
